Presidential aide, Dada Olusegun has criticised United Kingdom Conservative Party’s leader and Business Secretary, Kemi Badenoch, over her recent comments on Nigerian citizenship, accusing her of misrepresenting the country’s laws.
In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, Badenoch had claimed that as a Nigerian woman, she cannot pass on her citizenship to her children.
She contrasted this with the ease with which Nigerians acquire British citizenship.
“It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship. I have that citizenship by virtue of my parents. I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman,” Badenoch said.
“Yet loads of Nigerians come to the UK and acquire British citizenship. We need to stop being naive.”
Reacting via his X handle on Monday, Olusegun accused Badenoch of spreading misinformation and attempting to malign Nigeria.
“Aunty @KemiBadenoch, why do you continue to lie against your motherland? Why this continuous, dangerous, and desperate attempt to malign Nigeria?” he wrote.
Quoting the law, Olusegun noted that Section 25(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution clearly states that any child born outside Nigeria is a citizen by birth if either parent is Nigerian, regardless of the parent’s gender.
“This holds regardless of the father’s nationality. You do not need to apply for registration or naturalisation for her child to be a citizen,” he added.
Born in the UK to Nigerian parents, Badenoch spent part of her childhood in Lagos before returning to the UK at age 16. She is married to a Scottish banker and has three children.
Legal experts confirm that Nigerian citizenship by birth can be passed on by either parent, as long as one is a citizen by birth.
Gender only becomes relevant in matters involving foreign spouses, where Nigerian law is more restrictive, particularly for foreign men married to Nigerian women.
Section 26(2)(a) of the Constitution allows foreign women married to Nigerian men to apply for citizenship by registration, a privilege not extended automatically to foreign men married to Nigerian women.
However, this distinction does not apply to children entitled to Nigerian citizenship through either parent by descent.
Olusegun concluded by urging public figures to be cautious in their remarks and avoid spreading misleading narratives about the country.
