By Gabriel Ameh
December 11, 2025 — The Ondo State Government has approved the creation of Diaspora Focal Desks in all 18 Local Government Areas of the state, marking a major step toward decentralised diaspora engagement and strengthened global partnerships.
The initiative aims to ensure that every local government in the state benefits directly from opportunities driven by its global citizens, including development programmes, investment channels, capacity-building efforts, and community-based interventions.
The Diaspora Focal Desks will function as grassroots liaison points to enhance communication, streamline data collection, deepen outreach, and improve coordination for diaspora-led initiatives. Through this system, Ondo State indigenes across the world will have access to a more responsive and community-focused engagement platform.
At a stakeholders’ meeting held in Akure with the Hon. Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Amidu Takuro, and the 18 Local Government Chairmen, the Commissioner for Regional Integration and Diaspora Relations, Otunba Wale Akinlosotu, reaffirmed that the initiative is designed to bring diaspora engagement closer to the people while unlocking the socio-economic benefits of global linkages at the local level.
Akinlosotu emphasized that the development aligns with the administration’s OUR EASE agenda, which seeks to build a highly connected, inclusive, and prosperous Ondo State.
He noted that the establishment of the Focal Desks represents another milestone in the state’s efforts to harness the full potential of its diaspora population for development, investment, cultural exchange, and policy support.
“Ondo State continues to set the pace as a model for subnational diaspora engagement in Nigeria—one that is people-focused, globally connected, and development-driven,” Akinlosotu said.
With this development, Ondo State joins Enugu, Kano, Cross River, Edo, and the FCT as states that have instituted diaspora desk offices at the local government level.
e-signed:
Abdur-Rahman Balogun, MNIPR
Director of Media, Public Relations and Protocols,
NIDCOM, Abuja.
