Presidency hits Kemi Badenoch on her child citizenship; why this desperate attempt to malign Nigeria?

The Nigerian presidency has responded to recent remarks made by Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, over her claim that she cannot pass Nigerian citizenship to her children due to her gender.

In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Badenoch criticized what she called the UK’s overly relaxed immigration policies, arguing that many immigrants exploit the system in ways they wouldn’t be able to in their home countries. To support her point, she mentioned her own situation, saying her children could not receive Nigerian citizenship because she is not married to a Nigerian.

However, her claim drew sharp criticism from the Nigerian presidency. Dada Olusegun, the Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, responded on Monday through a post on his 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) account. He accused Badenoch of repeatedly misrepresenting Nigeria.

“Aunty @KemiBadenoch, why do you continue to lie against your motherland? Why this continuous dangerous and desperate attempt to malign Nigeria?” Olusegun asked.

He went on to clarify that the Nigerian constitution grants automatic citizenship by descent to children born to Nigerian women who are citizens by birth, regardless of the father’s nationality.

“Chapter 3, Section 25 (1)(c) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution states that if the Nigerian woman is a citizen by birth: Your children, whether born in Nigeria or abroad, are Nigerian citizens by descent, automatically under Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitution.

“This holds regardless of the father’s nationality. You do not need to apply for registration or naturalisation for your child(ren) to be citizens,” he explained.

The presidency’s response highlights its rejection of Badenoch’s claim, emphasising that Nigerian law does not discriminate against women in conferring citizenship to their children.