The Federal Government on Thursday officially presented and validated the Revised National Migration Policy (NMP) 2025, alongside its Integrated Implementation Plan.
The policy was unveiled during the 2025 Migration Dialogue organised by the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) in Abuja.
Following the validation, the documents are expected to be forwarded to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for formal adoption.
Speaking at the event, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr. Bernard Doro, charged stakeholders to focus on innovative solutions, collaborative approaches, and effective implementation of the policy.
According to him, the revised framework introduces innovations, strengthens institutional coordination, and provides a clear implementation and monitoring plan.
“We must adopt a governance model that is evidence-based, people-centred, and development-oriented. The Federal Government is fully committed to its operationalisation, and we will work tirelessly with all stakeholders to ensure its effective implementation at national and sub-national levels,” Tinubu said.
President Tinubu further noted that the revised policy reflects evolving migration realities and aligns with his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, while ensuring coherence with regional and global instruments.
He commended the support of international partners, including the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), for strengthening Nigeria’s migration governance.
Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, highlighted Nigeria’s current hosting of over six million internally displaced persons, many of whom live outside formal camps.
“This reality reinforces the need for policies that go beyond emergency response and focus on durable solutions, community stabilisation and social cohesion. The revised policy rightly strengthens provision on the internally displaced persons, return, reintegration and community-based recovery,” Sununu said.
He identified poverty as one of the strongest drivers of irregular migration and vulnerability, stressing that migration challenges cannot be addressed without tackling poverty.
Federal Commissioner of NCFRMI, Alhaji Tijani Ahmed, said the commission has provided strategic guidance that has led to notable progress in the migration sector. He announced that Nigeria will chair the Rabat Process Senior Officials Meeting in January 2026, focusing on climate-induced mobility.
Ahmed explained that beyond policy development, the commission has delivered tangible results.
“In collaboration with the International Organisation for Migration and other partners, the Commission facilitated the voluntary return of over 21,000 stranded Nigerian migrants through more than 97 flights from Libya, Niger, and Chad. In addition, the Commission has coordinated the humanitarian reception of over 2,500 Nigerians who were forcibly returned from Europe and other parts of the world,” he said.
Chief of Mission of IOM, Ms. Dimanche Sharon, described the dialogue as timely.
“Migration is not just about movement across borders or within them but about whether movement leads to dignity or despair, opportunity or uncertainty,” she said, urging institutions at federal, state, and local levels to work together to ensure migration positively impacts lives.
“Migration is not just about movement across borders or within them but about whether movement leads to dignity or despair, opportunity or uncertainty,” she said, urging institutions at federal, state, and local levels to work together to ensure migration positively impacts lives.
The Revised National Migration Policy 2025 aims to strengthen institutional coordination across migration-related agencies and align Nigeria’s migration governance with international best practices, including the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Key objectives include:
The Federal Government emphasized that the policy is designed to make migration safe, orderly, and beneficial, positioning Nigeria as a leader in regional migration governance.
Last month, Naijaonpoint reported that Nigeria ranked fourth among non-EU+ nationalities sending migrants to the United Kingdom in the year ending June 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The data highlights continued shifts in UK migration patterns, driven by fewer arrivals for work and study alongside modest increases in emigration.
A total of 40,000 Nigerians immigrated to the UK in the year ending June 2025, including 25,000 for study, 12,000 for work, and 3,000 via other routes.