News

Presidency Criticize Kemi Badenoch Over Citizenship Claim, Urges UK to Educate Her on Nigerian Law

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 22nd, 2025.

Presidency Criticize Kemi Badenoch Over Citizenship Claim, Urges UK to Educate Her on Nigerian Law

The Nigerian Presidency has strongly responded to remarks made by British Conservative Party figure Kemi Badenoch, following her claim that she cannot pass Nigerian citizenship to her children because she is a woman. Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga dismissed her statement as false and urged the UK to “send her home for proper re-education.”

In a post shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, Onanuga—Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy—accused Badenoch of spreading misinformation during her interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

“Kemi Badenoch lied. She owes her fatherland some apology,” Onanuga wrote. “Britain should send our lost daughter Kemi Badenoch home for a proper re-education.”

He referred to Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitution (1999, as amended), which states that a person born outside Nigeria is entitled to Nigerian citizenship by birth if either parent—father or mother—is Nigerian.

“Section 25 of our constitution defines who is entitled to Nigerian citizenship,” Onanuga explained. “It clearly grants that right to any person born outside Nigeria if either parent is a Nigerian citizen. Gender is not a factor.”

Badenoch, who was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, had said in the CNN interview that her children could not qualify for Nigerian citizenship through her. “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 claimed.

Onanuga commended Nigerian-British lawyer and activist Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu for publicly correcting Badenoch, calling her rebuttal “insightful” and necessary.

Badenoch, currently a prominent UK cabinet member and contender for future Conservative Party leadership, spent parts of her early life in Nigeria before moving back to the UK at age 16. She is married to a Scottish banker and is a mother of three.