NiDCOM, FMBN Seek Stronger Safeguards to Boost Diaspora Investment in Nigeria
Oru Leonard
The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), and the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), have called for stronger transparency, investor protection and institutional collaboration to encourage Nigerians living abroad to invest more confidently in the country.
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, made the call while declaring open the ninth Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS) 2026 in Abuja on November 10.
The two-day summit, organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Diaspora Summit Initiative (NDSI), is themed, “Bridging the Trust Gap: Connecting Diaspora Capital with Credible Home-based Opportunities.”
The gathering brings together diaspora investors, government agencies, financial regulators and private-sector operators to explore viable investment opportunities across various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Dabiri-Erewa described Nigerians in the diaspora as a significant economic force, noting that their financial resources, professional expertise and international networks could play crucial roles in advancing Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
However, she identified inadequate access to reliable investment information, fraudulent investment schemes, unverified investment channels and limited investor awareness as major challenges discouraging diaspora participation in the Nigerian economy.
She emphasised that building confidence through transparency, effective regulation and credible investment platforms remained essential to attracting diaspora capital.
In his keynote address, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FMBN, Shehu Usman Osidi, said Nigeria must strengthen institutional cooperation and establish more reliable investment protection mechanisms to address the trust deficit affecting diaspora investments.
Osidi argued that the country’s diaspora engagement strategy should go beyond attracting financial resources to creating an environment where Nigerians abroad could identify, verify, access and monitor genuine investment opportunities without fear of losing their investments.
He identified weak investment governance, fraudulent property transactions, disputed land titles, abandoned projects, breach of contractual agreements and mismanagement of invested funds as some of the factors responsible for investors’ concerns.
The FMBN chief acknowledged the Federal Government’s efforts to institutionalise diaspora engagement through NiDCOM and the National Diaspora Policy, which provides a framework for mobilising diaspora contributions through investment, trade, entrepreneurship, public-private partnerships and knowledge transfer.
He also referenced the business environment reforms being implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Highlighting the Federal Mortgage Bank’s contribution, Osidi disclosed that the Bank had introduced the National Housing Fund (NHF) Diaspora Mortgage Product to address the difficulties Nigerians abroad encounter when seeking to acquire properties in their home country.
The product, officially launched in London on August 7, 2026, is designed to improve access to mortgage financing while addressing challenges associated with distance, property transactions and confidence in investment security.
He further revealed that FMBN had established a dedicated Global Business Strategic Unit as a specialised operational structure to coordinate its diaspora business, strengthen customer engagement and improve service delivery.
Under the scheme, eligible Nigerians aged between 18 and 70 years residing abroad can participate through monthly contributions of $100, $200 and $300 under the Basic, Classic and Premium categories, respectively.
Osidi, however, maintained that access to mortgage financing alone would not eliminate the trust deficit, stressing the importance of collaboration among regulators, state governments, property developers and mortgage institutions.
He said such partnerships were necessary to guarantee genuine property titles, quality housing construction, credible housing supply and timely completion of projects.
Earlier, Chairman of the Summit Organising Committee and NDIS Coordinator, Mobolaji Lewis, explained that the 2026 virtual engagement was designed to sustain discussions on diaspora investment despite the decision to scale down the physical summit due to the national election campaign season.
Lewis said the engagement would equip prospective investors with practical knowledge on identifying, verifying and accessing credible investment opportunities while encouraging stronger collaboration among relevant institutions.
He described the 2026 summit as an important foundation for the 10th anniversary edition scheduled for 2027.
The opening ceremony also featured panel discussions on investment opportunities in Nigeria and strategies for strengthening diaspora participation in national economic development.
The summit is expected to deepen conversations on mobilising diaspora capital, improving investor confidence and creating sustainable partnerships between Nigerians at home and abroad.
