Fresh Revelation On Dual Citizenship Issue Against Tinubu Emerge

Fresh Revelation On Dual Citizenship Issue Against Tinubu Emerge

A professor of law at the University of Lagos, Yemi Oke, says there is no Nigerian law that bars an elective officeholder from having dual citizenship.

There has been an intense debate on social media platforms over Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s president-elect’s alleged citizenship of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa.

It was triggered after a snapshot of the biodata page of a Guinean passport bearing Mr Tinubu’s picture and information surfaced on the Internet.

The discourse around it stresses Mr Tinubu’s alleged ineligibility to contest for or hold the office of Nigeria’s presidency owing to his alleged Guinean citizenship. It also spotlights the fact that he failed to disclose his alleged dual citizenship to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Mr Tinubu and his campaign council have yet to comment to either confirm or deny the allegations.

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However, Mr Oke, weighing in on the issue, said the Nigerian constitution allows dual citizenship.

Referencing Section 28 of the constitution, the legal luminary, said “Dual citizenship is allowable where one qualifies as a Nigerian by birth.”

“It is my considered opinion that a Nigerian by BIRTH can retain, and maintain dual citizenship for purposes of seeking any elective office(s) in Nigeria till date,” the academic argued.

But, he clarified that “the only instance in which forfeiture of citizenship is allowed under the Constitution… is by holders of… citizenship by registration” and “citizenship by naturalisation.”

In a veiled reference to Bukola Saraki, former Kwara State governor and Nigerian Senate President, Mr Oke recalled that Mr Saraki was accused of having dual citizenship, in a desperate bid to scuttle his Senate presidency ambition.

“The issue of dual citizenship had initially occurred when a Kwara-born politician was to become President of the Senate of Nigeria and was ‘accused’ of dual citizenship of Nigeria and the United Kingdom.”

He noted that the issue has re-emerged concerning Mr Tinubu.

“It is my candid opinion that it is an ill-conceived distraction that will fizzle out,” he said.

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