Nigerians In Diaspora To Vote In 2011 Elections and Beyond

San Francisco March 21, (THEWILL) Nigerians living abroad may decide who becomes Nigeria’s next president in the 2011 general elections if plans by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to amend a section of the constitution is accepted by the National Assembly.

The pioneer ‘Diaspora voting’ according to INEC chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu will be held in four countries to enable Nigerians living abroad participate in choosing their president.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN reported over the weekend that Chairman, Prof. Iwu made the disclosure while addressing stakeholders in the electoral process over the weekend.

He said that the commission had concluded plans to conduct elections in four English-speaking countries, including Britain and the US.

"On Diaspora voting, all we need to do is to amend Section 77(2) of the constitution just to remove one clause that says only Nigerians resident in Nigeria can register for an election, not even vote. If we do that, that would be okay.

"We chose Britain and others for the pilot project because these are countries where we have many Nigerians and there would be no language problems," Iwu added.

Responding to the move, Chairman of House of Representatives’ Committee on Diaspora Affairs Rep. Abike Dabiri-Erewa said the decision was apt because of the contributions of Nigerians living abroad to the country’s development.

Dabiri-Erewa said that with an annual remittance of 11 billion US dollars, Nigerians in the Diaspora were capable of mobilizing substantial investments and development capital for Nigeria.

If the amendment is successful at the National Assembly, Nigerians living abroad may become a joker in who emerges president because of their huge number. It is estimated that more than 18 million Nigerians live abroad.