The Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has shared laughter emojis after some netizens belittled her achievement in public office in comparison to Dora Akunyili, the late Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The debate was started by an X user, @odogwu_ogidi, who brought Dabiri-Erewa's name into a post that had nothing to do with her.

In his response to the post celebrating Akunyili, @odogwu_ogidi said, "Dora was the person Abike thought she could be."

This angered many on social media who reminded him that both women deserve to be celebrated without putting one down for the other.

One such is Wale Ajetunmobi, the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Using his X handle, @Riddwane, he shared, "Abike made her name before Dora. Fact! Dora made her mark in public service, the same as Abike. Dora did her best to rescue the entire nation from fake drug cartels operating from you know where. Her people paid her back in bad coin. Abike is still doing her best for Nigeria."

His comment didn't sit well with another X user who said Dabiri-Erewa only came into the limelight in 2014 due to the presidential campaign of General Muhammadu Buhari.

@Ayewadadotcom said, "Nobody knew Abike at the national level until 2014 during Buhari's campaign (except her fellow day-to-day politicians). Dora Akunyili was known before her but that's gone. They are different people, playing different roles, none of them is inferior to the other."

@Ayewadadotcom was immediately knocked by @Woye1 who said, "Delete this nonsense. Ask your parents about
@abikedabiri on NTA. OLODO."


Who is Abike Dabiri-Erewa?

Dabiri-Erewa is a former member of the Federal House of Representatives, representing Ikorodu Constituency in Lagos State. She was elected for the first time in 2003 and re-elected in 2007 and 2011

During her time in the House, she chaired the House Committee on Media and Publicity and also the Committee on Diaspora Affairs.

She was one of those who stood against the third-term bid of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Before politics, Dabiri-Erewa worked for the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) for fifteen years, anchoring the weekly NTA Newsline programme and taking a particular interest in poverty and social justice issues.


Who is Dora Akunyili?

Akunyili served on several State Government Boards and was named Supervisory Councilor for Agriculture in a Local Government unit in Anambra State.

In 1996, she became the Zonal Secretary of the Petroleum Special Trust Fund (P.T.F), coordinating projects funded by profits from oil in Nigeria's South Eastern States.

She was appointed as the Director General of NAFDAC by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001 and served till 2009.

Akunyili died at a specialist cancer hospital in India on June 7, 2014, after a two-year battle with uterine cancer.