PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has told Nigerian diasporans that they will have to wait a while before they can participate in Nigerian elections because a lot still needs to be put in place before voting from overseas can take place. 

There are believed to be as many as 17m Nigerians living in diaspora, with the UK being the largest community with a 2m strong population.  These diasporans have long agitated for the right to participate in Nigerian elections but so far this has not been possible, with a bill seeking to authorise it once being defeated at the National Assembly.

 Voting has been a major discussion point at the ongoing 2015 Diaspora Day taking place in Abuja and speaking at the event yesterday, President Buhari said a lot of logistics are needed before diasporans can vote. Speaking at a seminar themed Diaspora and Nigeria’s Change Agenda, President Buhari, represented by vice president Yemi Osinbajo, said legislation, huge finance and confidence in the electoral system were required before diaspora voting can commence.

President Buhari said: “We are also aware of the importance of voting rights of Nigerians abroad but to achieve this, the National Assembly will have to legislate. Diaspora voting is in Nigeria’s future.
"Obviously there is a lot to be done including building confidence in the Nigerian electoral process as the skills and planning required for a national election in an atmosphere of continued suspicion of each party is a major challenge by itself. Our electoral process is evolving and as greater confidence is built in the institutions and processes associated with it, we may then create voting opportunities for our citizens abroad in the not too distant future.” 

However, the president said his administration was building a new Nigeria that required the support and participation of all, including Nigerians in diaspora. He said that part of his administration’s long term strategy as a government was to build an economy led by a strong and responsible private sector. 

According to President Buhari, the government’s intervention would come in the provision of physical and economic infrastructure and social policies that provide opportunity and succour for the 110m extremely poor Nigerians. He added that the administration was targeting consistent generation of 5,000MW of power daily by early 2016, describing it as a modest target from what was already available.
In addition, the president said that efforts were on to complete a variety of outstanding power-related projects in order to lay the foundation for 10,000MW and 15,000 MW subsequently. Furthermore, President Buhari said the government was pursuing a long overdue reform in the hydrocarbon industry and reorganising the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and holding the officials accountable for past revenue losses.