by Niyi Jacobs
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has adopted Nigeria’s Revised 2025 National Migration Policy (NMP), marking a significant step towards strengthening the country’s migration governance system and ensuring safer, more coordinated and development-oriented migration.
Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard M. Doro, welcomed the council’s decision, describing it as a major milestone in the Federal Government’s efforts to establish a more responsive and people-centred migration framework.
The policy was adopted at Wednesday’s FEC meeting following an extensive review and consultation process aimed at updating the National Migration Policy originally introduced in 2015.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Minister’s Senior Technical Adviser on Information Systems and Data Analysis, Dr Abimbola Fasanu, Doro said the revised framework would strengthen the protection of migrants, expand opportunities for safe and regular migration, improve support for returnees and enhance migration data management.
He said the policy would also provide a clearer framework for harnessing migration and diaspora contributions to Nigeria’s economic and national development.
Doro described the approval as particularly significant following Nigeria’s participation in the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in May.
The Minister led Nigeria’s delegation to the forum and served as Co-Chair of Roundtable 3, where Nigeria demonstrated its progress towards 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,” Doro said.
He stressed that migration policies must ultimately deliver tangible benefits to 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,” he stated.
Broad Stakeholder Consultation
The revised policy emerged from a wide-ranging consultation involving Ministries, Departments and Agencies, state governments, civil society organisations, academia, international development partners and other stakeholders within 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 accompanying Integrated Implementation Plan were validated by stakeholders during a Technical Working Group on Migration and Development meeting held in Abuja on April 29, 2025.
The framework seeks to strengthen institutional coordination, respond to emerging migration trends and align Nigeria’s migration priorities with regional and international frameworks.
Doro commended the NCFRMI, government institutions, IOM, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders whose technical contributions and consultations contributed to the policy’s eventual adoption.
Implementation Now the Priority
The Minister said the significance of the revised policy goes beyond improving institutional coordination.
Its implementation is expected to strengthen protection for Nigerian migrants, improve support for Nigerians returning home, enhance migration and diaspora data and improve coordination among federal, state and local governments.
It will also provide a stronger framework for maximising the contribution of migration to national development while addressing irregular migration and other emerging challenges.
“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,” Doro said.
The Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Dr Tijani Aliyu Ahmed, also welcomed the FEC decision, describing it as the culmination of years of technical work, consultations and collaboration across Nigeria’s migration governance system.
Ahmed said the approval would provide fresh momentum for coordinated implementation at federal, state and local government levels, while strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to protect migrants and vulnerable populations.
With the policy now adopted, attention will shift towards implementation, monitoring and localisation to ensure that the framework remains evidence-based, rights-centred and aligned with Nigeria’s development priorities.
Doro said the development demonstrated the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to strengthening institutions and translating Nigeria’s international commitments into practical national action.
“This approval is not the end of the process. It is the beginning of the most important phase: implementation,” he said.
He added that the government would work with relevant agencies, state and local governments, development partners, civil society and the international community to build a migration governance system that protects Nigerians, creates safer migration pathways and positions migration as an instrument of national development.
“Under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, we will continue working with our agencies, State and Local Governments, development partners, civil society and the international community to build a migration governance system that works for Nigeria and for Nigerians wherever they may be,” Doro stated
