Tinubu administration strengthens migration governance as FEC adopts revised national policy
By Paul Ogbuokiri
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the Revised 2025 National Migration Policy (NMP), marking a major step by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to strengthen Nigeria’s migration governance and maximise the economic and social benefits of migration.
The policy, adopted at the FEC meeting on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, replaces the National Migration Policy introduced in 2015 and provides an updated framework for addressing emerging migration trends, protecting migrants and promoting safe, orderly and regular migration.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, described the approval as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to translate its international migration commitments into coordinated action at home.
In a statement issued yesterday by his Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Dr Abimbola Fasanu, Doro said the revised policy would strengthen migrant protection, support return and reintegration, improve migration data and create opportunities to harness migration and diaspora resources for national development.
The minister linked the development to Nigeria’s participation in the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in May.
Doro led Nigeria’s delegation to the forum and served as Co-Chair of Roundtable 3, where the country showcased progress in implementing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
“Our participation at the International Migration Review Forum demonstrated Nigeria’s commitments to the world. The adoption of the Revised National Migration Policy brings those commitments home and provides the national framework for translating them into coordinated and measurable action,” he said.
He stressed that the ultimate measure of the policy would be its impact on Nigerians at home and abroad.
“Migration should not become a journey into vulnerability. Our responsibility is to build systems that enable Nigerians to migrate safely and regularly, protect those who move, support those who return, and harness migration as a force for national development,” Doro said.
The revised policy emerged from a broad consultation involving Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), state governments, civil society organisations, academia, international development partners and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s migration ecosystem.
The review was coordinated by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), with technical support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The revised policy and its Integrated Implementation Plan were validated by stakeholders at the Technical Working Group on Migration and Development meeting in Abuja on April 29, 2025.
The framework is expected to improve institutional coordination, strengthen Nigeria’s response to changing migration patterns and align national migration priorities with regional and international frameworks, particularly the Global Compact.
Doro commended the NCFRMI, government agencies, IOM, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders for their contributions to the policy review.
He said the new framework would improve assistance for Nigerians returning from abroad, strengthen migration and diaspora data, promote safer migration pathways and improve coordination among federal, state and local governments.
It is also expected to provide a clearer framework for leveraging the Nigerian diaspora and migration for economic development while strengthening the country’s response to irregular migration and related vulnerabilities.
“The movement of people is a reality of our interconnected world. Our task as Government is not merely to manage movement, but to ensure that migration is safer, better coordinated and capable of contributing positively to the lives of our citizens and the development of our country,” the minister said.
Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Dr Tijani Aliyu Ahmed, also welcomed the FEC approval, describing it as the culmination of years of technical work, consultation and collaboration among stakeholders.
According to him, the decision provides fresh impetus for coordinated implementation at federal, state and local levels while strengthening Nigeria’s ability to protect migrants and vulnerable populations and maximise the developmental gains of migration.
With the policy now approved, attention shifts to implementation, monitoring and localisation.
Doro said the approval demonstrated the Tinubu administration’s commitment to strengthening institutions and converting Nigeria’s international obligations into practical national policies.
“This approval is not the end of the process. It is the beginning of the most important phase: implementation,” he said.
“Our responsibility now is to ensure that the policy moves beyond paper and becomes a living framework that protects Nigerians, strengthens coordination, creates safer migration pathways and enables our country to harness migration as an instrument of development.”
He added that the administration would work with government agencies, state and local governments, development partners, civil society and the international community to build a migration governance system that works for Nigerians wherever they may be.