TINUBU’S DUAL CITIZENSHIP

Forget about the topic, because I do not know if Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Nigeria’s President-Elect) is a citizen of another country.

However, this has made the news and Nigerians believe that this is enough to disqualify him from being “Mr. President”

That is why I am here, to help you out with questions like this.

Section 137 (1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended) states that a person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if:

“Subject to the provisions of Section 28 of this Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country…..”

The underlined part of the above is key. It means that all that is stated in section 137(1) (a) is to be read subject to section 28 of the Constitution. The question here is, what does section 28 say?

Section 28 (1) provides:

“Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall forfeit forthwith his Nigerian citizenship IF, NOT BEING A CITIZEN OF NIGERIAN BY BIRTH, HE ACQUIRES OR RETAINS THE CITIZENSHIP OR NATIONALITY OF A COUNTRY, OTHER THAN NIGERIAN, OF WHICH HE IS NOT A CITIZEN BY BIRTH”

What the above means is, a person who is not a Nigerian by birth cannot acquire citizenship of another country (which is not his own birth country). If he does, he forfeits his Nigerian citizenship. So, a British citizen by birth, can acquire the Nigerian citizenship either by registration or by naturalization. There by making him both a British and Nigerian citizen. He however cannot go ahead to acquire the Brazilian citizenship, being that that is not his “birth Country” without forfeiting that of Nigeria.

So, section 137 (1) (a), by virtue of section 28, was not referring to Nigerians by birth. Nigerians by birth can definitely acquire citizenship of another country of their choice, and still run for the office of the President of Nigeria. The disqualification as stated in section 137(1)(a) is for Nigerians by registration and by naturalization. A Nigerian by registration or naturalization can run for the office of Mr. President if only he has not acquired another country’s citizenship, other than that of his birth country.

So yes, feel free to acquire the citizenship of another country, as long as you are Nigerian by birth, your Nigerian citizenship is not threatened.