Abike Dabiri-Erewa: The Quiet Force Behind Tinubu’s Diaspora Strategy

Abike Dabiri-Erewa has built her political reputation on results rather than noise. As Director of Diaspora Mobilisation for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, she now carries that approach into one of the campaign’s more delicate assignments. Her experience runs deep. As Chairman and CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Dabiri-Erewa has spent years working at the intersection of government, diplomacy and the millions of Nigerians living abroad. That work has produced concrete outcomes. Under her leadership, NiDCOM facilitated the rescue and repatriation of 244 trafficked Nigerians from neighbouring West African countries within a matter of weeks. Her agency also coordinated the return of stranded citizens from Ghana and Mali, including the widely publicised case involving actress Jumoke George’s daughter. Beyond rescue operations, Dabiri-Erewa has focused on channelling diaspora resources into the domestic economy. She continues to lead the Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit, a platform designed to direct diaspora capital into healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure. At the 2025 National Diaspora Day Celebrations, she partnered with the Ministry of Interior to build clearer reintegration pathways for returning capital and talent. Her commission’s regulatory desk has also resolved more than 1,000 petitions from Nigerians abroad, addressing real estate fraud, investment scams, and unfair treatment. She has additionally pushed “Brain Gain” initiatives aimed at drawing skilled Nigerian professionals back into sectors like education, healthcare and sports. That combination of rescue work, investment mobilisation and advocacy has given her a network few political operatives can match. For a campaign trying to reach Nigerians outside the country, that network’s significance is not small. Her approach stands apart from the louder tendencies of modern political communication. Dabiri-Erewa favours relationships over soundbites, and her current assignment asks her to apply that same patience to a constituency she already knows well.