The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, has said the 2026 Nigeria Diaspora Investment Economic Conference (NIDEC), scheduled to hold in Toronto, Canada, is not a diplomatic jamboree but a strategic platform to attract investment, create jobs and increase foreign exchange inflows into Nigeria.
Enikanolaiye stated this in Abuja on Tuesday while addressing journalists ahead of his departure with a Federal Government delegation to the four-day conference.
Responding to concerns that previous international engagements had yielded limited tangible results, the Minister said the Tinubu administration had no room for ceremonial or unproductive foreign trips.
“This administration does not travel for jamborees. We travel for results.
“Mr. President has mandated a high-powered delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, because NIDEC 2026 is a deal room for Nigeria’s growth,” he said.
According to the Minister, the conference aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s realigned 4Ds Foreign Policy Agenda — Demography, Development, Democracy and Diaspora.
Enikanolaiye said NIDEC 2026 would provide an opportunity to deepen Nigeria-Canada economic relations, with senior Canadian officials, including Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali and ministers from Ontario, expected to participate.
He said discussions would focus on new trade agreements, SME partnerships and improved market access for Nigerian products in North America.
The Minister also highlighted the participation of key Nigerian economic agencies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
He said the delegation would promote incentives for diaspora capital repatriation, export expansion and remittance-backed investment vehicles, with the aim of increasing foreign exchange inflows and creating jobs in Nigeria.
Enikanolaiye said the participation of five governors from Anambra, Borno, Kaduna, Plateau and Zamfara would strengthen sub-national investment partnerships.
The governors, he explained, would directly engage potential investors on projects spanning infrastructure, agriculture, technology and mining, thereby extending investment opportunities beyond Abuja.
The Minister said the participation of NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa would support Nigeria’s efforts to secure partnerships in digital innovation, fintech and information technology capacity building.
He said such partnerships would contribute to the Federal Government’s broader digital economy and skills development agenda.
On diaspora engagement, Enikanolaiye said NIDEC was designed to connect investment-ready Nigerian projects with high-net-worth Nigerians in the diaspora, while also addressing bottlenecks faced by Nigerians abroad who want to invest in the country.
He noted that Nigeria received more than $20 billion in diaspora remittances last year, stressing that the objective was to transform the goodwill represented by those remittances into equity, factories and businesses capable of employing Nigerians.
@NIDEC 2026 is economic diplomacy in action. Nigeria is open for business. And we are going to Toronto to close deals,” he said.
The four-day NIDEC 2026, themed “Invest Nigeria, Thrive Abroad,” is scheduled for August 12–15, 2026, in Toronto, Canada.
The conference is being organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), in collaboration with the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa and the Canadian High Commission in Abuja.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the conference is intended to serve as a bridge connecting global capital with bankable investment opportunities in Nigeria.
(vitalmewsngr.com)
