Nigeria is 100 percent prepared for 2026 IMRF-Geofrey Akor NBS official

National Migration Data Working Group Focal Person and Desk Officer on Migration at  National Bureau of Statistics, Geofrey Akor, has said that Nigeria is 100 percent prepared for the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) holding in New York.

He disclosed this during  at the just concluded Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) ahead of the 2026 International Migration Review Forum (IMRF).   

The event which was held between February 17 and 21 at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos, had the International Organisation for Migration,  other international partners, members of the civil society, federal and state government agencies among others in attendance.

His words: “If you look at what happened yesterday with the key priority issues and the key message that has been presented by the four different groups,  you will have no doubt that, of course,  we will have a better representation come May, 2026 in New York.

“It will positively impact migration issues back at home  because that’s like the highest gathering in migration space.”

He described the three-day engagement as awesome “because the National Voluntary Review is preceding the International Migration Review that will hold in New York.

So this gathering gives the opportunity for Nigerians in the migration space to prepare adequately to carry the key message for Nigeria to the New York gathering.  And of course, this will afford us that needed attention that Nigeria has been desiring as a champion country.  The last one was 2022, and I believe this one will be better because we have better coordination and better preparation that precedes the IMRF 2026 in New York.

“In 2022, some of these policies were yet to be strengthened. Take, for example, the overarching policy,  which is the national policy on migration, was yet to be reviewed.  But now, before this IMRF, I can beat my chest to tell you that it has been reviewed to include all the extant activities and happenings globally so that we can run with it.  And of course, in this period, we have equally reviewed the national labour migration policy to include the extant happenings. I’m going to tell you that the West African sub-region even borrowed from the Nigerian model to develop the ECOWAS labour migration policy.  And we have what we call the data management strategy which was equally reviewed in 2025.  Then the review of MOU for data sharing.

“We equally have the successful database for the first time.  We have had the harmonized migration data template. Another thing we achieved greatly and immensely in this period is the emergence and, of course, the notice of the civil society’s space to include the whole of government, whole of society approach.  So there are so many messages.  And the migrants themselves, which is a subject of discussion have been given enormous voice.

So we have had several migrant associations within Nigeria to have their voice heard,  unlike what happened before now in 2022.  So migrants have their associations and they can speak.”