Presidential aide, Dada Olusegun, has lashed out at British cabinet minister and Conservative Party member, Kemi Badenoch, for making what he described as misleading and damaging remarks about Nigeria’s citizenship laws.
Badenoch, while speaking during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, claimed she is unable to pass on her Nigerian citizenship to her children simply because she is a woman. She further stated that acquiring Nigerian nationality is nearly impossible, whereas many Nigerians find it relatively easy to gain British citizenship.
“It’s virtually impossible to get Nigerian citizenship. I have it because of my parents, but I can’t pass it on to my children because I’m a woman,” she said in the interview.
Responding to her claims in a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, Olusegun accused Badenoch of repeatedly misrepresenting Nigeria and using inaccurate narratives to portray the country negatively.
“Aunty @KemiBadenoch, stop spreading falsehoods about Nigeria. Why the relentless effort to damage your country’s image?” he wrote.
He cited the Nigerian Constitution, particularly Section 25(1)(c), which confirms that any child born outside Nigeria to a Nigerian citizen by birth—regardless of whether it is the mother or father—is automatically a Nigerian citizen by descent. This, he said, invalidates Badenoch’s assertion.
Badenoch, who was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, spent part of her early life in Lagos before moving back to the UK at age 16. She is currently married to a Scottish banker, Hamish Badenoch, and they have three children.
Olusegun emphasized that Nigeria’s laws do not discriminate based on gender when it comes to granting citizenship to children. Citizenship by birth applies equally to descendants of Nigerian men and women.
He also explained that while the constitution permits dual citizenship for individuals who are Nigerian by birth, those who acquired it through registration or naturalisation may lose it if they adopt another nationality.
However, spousal citizenship is treated differently under the law. Foreign women married to Nigerian men can obtain citizenship through registration. But foreign men married to Nigerian women are not granted the same benefit and must follow the more complex process of naturalisation.
In Badenoch’s case, while her husband may not qualify automatically for Nigerian citizenship, their children—by virtue of having a Nigerian mother—are entitled to citizenship by descent under Nigerian law.
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