Nigeria Charts New Course for Migration Governance with Revised Policy Framework
By Jacinta Nwachukwu
Abuja, Dec. 18, 2025 (NAN) – In a significant move to address one of the 21st century’s most complex challenges, the Federal Government of Nigeria has officially presented and validated the Revised National Migration Policy (NMP) 2025, complete with an Integrated Implementation Plan. The unveiling marks a pivotal shift from reactive migration management to a proactive, strategic governance model.
The policy was launched at the 2025 Migration Dialogue in Abuja, organized by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) with support from international partners. This event signals Nigeria’s commitment to leading regional conversations on migration, especially as the nation prepares to chair the Rabat Process senior officials meeting on climate-induced mobility in January 2026.
Presidential Mandate: From Policy to Practice
President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, charged stakeholders to move beyond theoretical discussions. “We must adopt a governance model that is evidence-based, people-centered, and development-orientated,” the President declared. He emphasized that the revised policy is not merely a document but a blueprint for action, introducing critical innovations in institutional coordination and providing a clear implementation roadmap with a robust monitoring framework.
The President affirmed the policy’s alignment with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and its coherence with regional and global instruments like the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. This alignment is crucial for several reasons: it facilitates international cooperation, ensures access to global funding and technical support, and positions Nigeria as a responsible actor in the global migration landscape.
Addressing Core Drivers: The Poverty-Migration Nexus
Perhaps the most insightful commentary came from the Minister of State, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, who identified poverty as “one of the strongest drivers of irregular migration, internal mobility and vulnerability.” This acknowledgment is a critical evolution in Nigeria’s approach. It recognizes that migration policies cannot succeed in isolation from broader economic and social development strategies. Addressing migration without confronting its root economic causes is, as Sununu stated, “incomplete.”
This perspective directly informs the policy’s focus on harnessing migration for development—transforming remittances, diaspora skills, and networks into engines for national growth, rather than viewing emigration solely as a loss.
A Policy Built on Evolving Realities
The 2025 revision responds to several pressing, contemporary challenges that were less pronounced when earlier versions were drafted:
- Internal Displacement Crisis: With over 6 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)—many living in host communities outside formal camps—the policy strengthens provisions for durable solutions, community stabilization, and social cohesion. This shift from emergency response to long-term integration is essential for national stability.
- Climate-Induced Mobility: The upcoming focus on climate migration acknowledges a growing driver of displacement, particularly in regions like the Lake Chad basin and coastal areas facing erosion and flooding.
- Protection and Rights: The policy aims to improve safeguards for all migrants, both Nigerians abroad and foreigners within Nigeria, ensuring movement with dignity and reducing exploitation.
Tangible Results and Future Direction
Federal Commissioner of the NCFRMI, Alhaji Tijani Ahmed, provided concrete examples of ongoing work that the new policy will systematize and scale. In collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Commission has facilitated the voluntary return of over 21,000 stranded Nigerians from Libya, Niger, and Chad via 97 charter flights. It has also coordinated the humanitarian reception of over 2,500 Nigerians forcibly returned from Europe.
These operations highlight the practical, life-saving work underpinning the policy’s objectives. The revised framework aims to make such interventions more predictable, better funded, and integrated with reintegration support to prevent retrafficking or re-migration under dangerous conditions.
International Partnership and a Call for Cohesion
The Chief of Mission for IOM Nigeria, Ms. Dimanche Sharon, framed the moment perfectly: “Migration is not just about movement across borders or within them but about whether movement leads to dignity or despair, opportunity or uncertainty.” Her statement underscores the human dimension at the heart of the policy. She emphasized the necessity for all tiers of government—federal, state, and local—to work cohesively to ensure migration yields positive outcomes.
The successful validation of the documents paves the way for their formal adoption by the Federal Executive Council (FEC). Once adopted, the real work begins: translating the comprehensive plan into coordinated action across dozens of ministries, departments, agencies, and state governments.
Key Aims of the Revised National Migration Policy 2025:
- Strengthen Institutional Coordination: Break down silos between the numerous agencies handling migration, security, labor, foreign affairs, and humanitarian response.
- Align with Global Standards: Embed international best practices and human rights principles into Nigeria’s domestic governance.
- Enhance Migrant Protection: Safeguard the rights and welfare of Nigerians abroad and migrants within Nigeria.
- Maximize Migration Benefits: Create pathways to harness diaspora remittances, skills, and investments for national development.
- Mitigate Challenges: Address brain drain, insecurity linked to mobility, and the complexities of labor migration through balanced, evidence-based strategies.
The Revised National Migration Policy 2025 represents Nigeria’s most ambitious attempt to manage the multifaceted phenomenon of human mobility. By aiming to make migration safe, orderly, and beneficial, it seeks to transform a perennial challenge into a source of resilience and opportunity for the nation and its people.
JIN/ROT
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Edited by Rotimi Ijikanmi
Source: www.nannews.ng
