The Nigerian Presidency has harshly criticized British Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch over her recent comment on Nigerian citizenship laws.
Badenoch, a UK cabinet minister with Nigerian roots, claimed during an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that she could not pass Nigerian citizenship to her children because she is a woman.
Her statement sparked outrage back home.
Reacting via his official X handle on Monday, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, accused Badenoch of spreading false information.
“Kemi Badenoch lied,” Onanuga wrote. “She owes her fatherland some apology. Britain should send our lost daughter Kemi Badenoch home for a proper re-education.”
Onanuga quoted Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitution, which clearly states that children born outside Nigeria to either a Nigerian mother or father are entitled to Nigerian citizenship by birth.
“Section 25 of our constitution defines who has the right to Nigerian citizenship… Every person born outside Nigeria, either of whose parents is a citizen of Nigeria,” Onanuga noted.
Badenoch, who was born in the UK to Nigerian parents, claimed in the CNN interview that it’s “virtually impossible” for her children to gain Nigerian citizenship because of her gender.
“I have that citizenship by virtue of my parents. I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman,” she told Zakaria.
However, Nigerian officials and legal experts have dismissed her statement as misleading and inaccurate.
Onanuga praised British-Nigerian lawyer and political commentator Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu for publicly debunking Badenoch’s claim.
He described Dr. Shola’s intervention as “enlightening” and timely.
Badenoch, who spent part of her early life in Nigeria, returned to the UK at age 16. She is now married to a Scottish banker and is a mother of three.
The backlash underscores the growing sensitivity in Nigeria around citizenship, national identity, and misinformation especially when coming from public figures of Nigerian descent abroad.
