Former Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede, refuted the claim by Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, that she cannot pass her right of Nigerian citizenship to her children because of her gender.
Babandede’s clarification was made in a statement on his X account on Sunday in reply to Badenoch.
Recall that Badenoch, in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, spoke on the comparison between Nigeria and Britain’s immigration policies.
When asked by Zakaria if she would permit a Nigerian immigrant to create a “mini-Nigeria” in the UK for cultural integration, her quick response was “no.”
Badenoch argued that Nigerians would not tolerate such a policy in favour of foreigners.
“That is not right. Nigerians would not tolerate that. That’s not something that many countries would accept,” she added.
“There are many people who come to our country, to the UK, who do things that would not be acceptable in their countries.”
Badenoch had cited her children’s “inability” to become Nigerians to buttress her argument.
“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,” she said.
Reacting, Babandede countered Badenoch’s claim.
He explained that Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitution allows persons whose parents or grandparents, whether male or female, to become citizens by birth.
“As a former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service who oversees citizenship matters, Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitution allows persons whose parents or grandparents (both male and female) become citizens by birth,” he wrote on X.
