The need for periodic information sharing, promotion of institutional collaboration, and coherence amongst migration Stakeholders is key to effective migration governance in Nigeria.
The Federal Commissioner National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim said this at the meeting of the 2022 Technical Working Group on Migration and Development in Nigeria, which held in Abuja. 
The Federal Commissioner stated that the Technical Working Group, TWG, as the second highest Migration group is also expected to close existing gaps that have continuously impeded the effective management of migration in the country.
According to her, the TWG also provides a platform for reporting the activities of stakeholders, highlighting their achievements, challenges and recommendations with a view to proffering solutions.
She said; ” Their effective engagement with relevant stakeholders in their respective thematic groups have yielded dividends across the board”. They have worked tirelessly in the period under review.”
The Acting Chief of Mission, International Organisations for Migration in Nigeria, Prestage Murima said IOM would continue to give technical support migration and related issues in Nigeria.
Murima noted that the National Migration Thematic Leads will also discuss issues that are important in assessing the journey so far in terms of reaching the targets set in the National Migration Policy.
“The TWG aimed at operationalising the implementation of the National Migration Policy through the key role the forum plays in synchronising the contribution of all the stakeholders,” Murima stated.
The overall objective of the meeting is to enhance effective collaboration, coordination and information sharing amongst all stakeholders involved in migration management in Nigeria.
The Refugee Commission had organised a training workshop across the country’s six geopolitical zones on the Operationalisation of the Standard Operating Procedures on conduct of the Return, Readmission and Reintegration of migrants.
The Director Migrants Affairs Department of the Commission, Catherine Udida said that the SOP was developed using an all of society approach, engaging relevant and non State actors involved in the conduct of RRR and to elucidate on the provisions of the SOP.
According to her, ”the training was organised to build the capacities of the relevant stakeholders to provide clarity on their roles and responsibilities during the conduct of RRR, as it had become apparent that various MDAs were working in silos and unwittingly infringing on the mandates of other stakeholders, leading to duplicity of effort.
“We have already begun to see increased collaboration among the stakeholders in the implementation of Return Readmission and Reintegration. Hitherto, actors were working in silos, implementing reintegration programmes, without any form of synergy with other stakeholders, but these structures, which have been implemented in about seven states, have seen stakeholders collaborating and drawing resources together to achieve durable solutions for returned migrants,”Udida said.
She said; ”Nigeria sits heads and shoulders ahead of all African nations in terms of well defined migration governance structure…And we have continued to receive delegations from various African countries to learn from our migration governance structure. The operationalisation of the SOP on RRR is one of the ways in which the Nigerian Government seeks to strengthen our migration governance architecture, to ensure that relevant stakeholders are aware of their responsibilities and are seen to be performing their roles.
” It may interest you to know that all the other thematic groups involved in migration governance in Nigeria and led by various MDAs, such as the migration data working group, stakeholders forum on border management, standing committee on diaspora matters and the labour migration working group, are currently meeting and strengthening their systems and processes to ensure effective migration governance.”
The Director Migrants Affairs Department, Catherine Udida added that the Nigerian Government is taking active steps towards ensuring all the recommendations are implemented.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
