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African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has accused some Nigerians in the Diaspora of aiding corrupt politicians and facilitating illicit activities linked to stolen public funds.
Sowore, who spoke at News Central’s Diaspora Town Hall in New York, said Nigerians abroad could not demand greater political participation without also confronting what he described as complicity by some members of the community in the activities of corrupt officials.
“We are also complicit in some of the crimes that are happening at home. Is it not you Diaspora people that help them buy lands and properties when they steal money from Nigerians?” he asked.
The town hall, held on September 26, was themed, “The Diaspora Voting Bill: Promise, Politics and the Path Forward,” and brought together political figures, Diaspora advocates, academics, professionals and community leaders to discuss the campaign for voting rights for Nigerians living abroad.
Sowore said the Nigerian Diaspora represented a significant potential voting bloc whose participation could influence the country’s political direction if Nigerians abroad were eventually granted voting rights.
He urged them to become more politically conscious and deliberate about the kind of leadership they wanted for the country.
News Central reported that Sowore also argued that political resistance to Diaspora voting was partly driven by fear among politicians that Nigerians abroad would be harder to influence through traditional forms of electoral inducement.
The AAC candidate also alleged that some Nigerians abroad were corrupt and that politicians did not take the Diaspora community seriously enough, linking this to what he described as weaknesses within the community.
His comments came as other participants at the town hall renewed calls for the passage and implementation of legislation allowing Nigerians abroad to vote.
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Special Envoy on Gender Affairs Education to the United Nations and Peace Ambassador, Edward Ilechukwu, said the debate had gone on for too long and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish a dedicated Diaspora voters’ register.
Associate Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Leaders of Africa Institute, Prof Jelili Adebiyi, highlighted the importance of Diaspora remittances to Nigerian households and the wider economy.
Chairman of NIDO Europe and Coordinating Chairman of NIDO Worldwide, Chibuzo Ubochi, described the campaign for Diaspora voting as a long-running struggle marked by years of advocacy and limited progress.
“We are no less Nigerians because we live abroad,” Ubochi said.
He also called for clearer timelines and stronger coordination among Diaspora organisations pushing for voting rights.
Founder of Nigerians in New York, Daniel Jayeoba, said the debate should also focus on the long-term relationship between Nigeria and its citizens abroad, warning that indifference could weaken that relationship.
The discussion also examined practical issues surrounding Diaspora voting, including voter registration, identity verification, funding, electoral infrastructure and the ability of INEC to administer elections across different countries.
President and Founder of Save Nigeria Group USA, Stephen Osemwegie, urged the National Assembly to pass the Diaspora Voting Bill, arguing that Nigerians abroad should be able to participate directly in choosing the country’s leaders.
The New York discussion reflected the wider debate over whether Nigerians living abroad should be granted voting rights and what institutional safeguards would be required to implement such a system.
