Diaspora Investment: Dabiri-Erewa, FMBN Boss Seek Stronger Safeguards to Boost Investors’ Confidence
The Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, and the Managing Director of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Shehu Usman Osidi, have called for stronger transparency, institutional collaboration and investor protection to boost diaspora investments in Nigeria.
They made the call on Tuesday during the opening of the 9th Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS) 2026 in Abuja.
The summit, organised by NiDCOM in partnership with the Nigeria Diaspora Summit Initiative (NDSI), centred on the theme, “Bridging the Trust Gap: Connecting Diaspora Capital with Credible Home-based Opportunities.”
Speaking at the event, Dabiri-Erewa reaffirmed NiDCOM’s commitment to providing secure and credible investment opportunities for Nigerians in the diaspora.
She described the diaspora community as a significant economic asset whose financial capacity, expertise and international connections could contribute substantially to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
However, she noted that concerns over fraudulent investment schemes, inadequate investor information, unverified channels and weak protection mechanisms continued to discourage Nigerians abroad from investing in their home country.
The NiDCOM chief executive maintained that addressing these challenges through transparency, regulatory safeguards and reliable investment platforms was necessary to unlock the enormous economic potential of diaspora capital.
In his keynote presentation, Osidi stressed that Nigeria needed to build an investment environment that prioritises the confidence and protection of Nigerians abroad rather than focusing solely on attracting their financial resources.
He identified fraudulent property transactions, disputed land titles, abandoned projects, poor investment governance, breached contractual agreements and mismanagement of funds as major challenges affecting diaspora investors.
Osidi said stronger collaboration among government institutions, financial regulators and private-sector operators would help restore confidence and ensure that investments translated into tangible results.
He also highlighted the Federal Government’s efforts to institutionalise diaspora engagement through NiDCOM and the National Diaspora Policy, which provides a framework for harnessing diaspora contributions in investment, trade, entrepreneurship, public-private partnerships and knowledge transfer.
The FMBN managing director further pointed to ongoing investment climate reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Speaking on the Bank’s contribution to diaspora investment, Osidi highlighted its National Housing Fund Diaspora Mortgage Product, which was launched in London on August 7, 2026.
He explained that the product was designed to enable Nigerians living abroad to acquire homes in Nigeria while addressing challenges relating to mortgage access, distance, property transactions and confidence in investment security.
To strengthen the initiative, he disclosed that FMBN had established a dedicated Global Business Strategic Unit to oversee its diaspora business and improve customer engagement and service delivery.
The mortgage scheme is open to eligible Nigerians aged 18 to 70 years residing abroad, with monthly contribution options of $100 for the Basic category, $200 for Classic and $300 for Premium.
Osidi emphasised that providing mortgage facilities without addressing concerns about property ownership and project delivery would not adequately resolve the trust deficit.
He therefore called for stronger partnerships with regulators, state governments, developers and mortgage institutions to ensure authentic property documentation, quality housing construction and timely completion of projects.
Earlier, Mobolaji Lewis, Chairman of the Summit Organising Committee and Coordinator of NDIS, said the 2026 virtual engagement was organised to maintain momentum in diaspora investment discussions despite the scaling down of the physical summit because of the national election campaign season.
He said participants would receive practical guidance on identifying and verifying genuine investment opportunities, while the engagement would also strengthen cooperation among relevant institutions.
Lewis added that the summit would serve as a foundation for the 10th anniversary edition in 2027.
The opening ceremony featured panel discussions and interactive sessions examining investment opportunities across different sectors of the Nigerian economy.
