Aondoakaa: Why Dual Citizenship Doesn’t Disqualify Anyone Born In Nigeria From Contesting Elections

Posted by Nwa Diokpa Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Wednesday, April 26th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – A former minister of justice and attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Michael Aondoakaa, has stated that having dual citizenship cannot disqualify anyone who is a Nigerian by birth from contesting elections in the country.

Aondoakaa, who spoke in a chat with Arise TV on Tuesday, stated that dual citizenship can only disqualify “a person who obtains such status by naturalization or registration”.
It could be recalled that shortly after Bola Tinubu was announced the winner of the presidential election, there were reports that he allegedly obtained citizenship of a West African country, Guinea.

This allegation has sparked social media reactions on social media as many argued that having dual citizenship bars Tinubu from contesting elections in the country.

Reacting, Aondoakaa, stated that the complainants must first establish that Tinubu was not a Nigerian by birth before dual citizenship can become an issue.
“But assuming it was in the petition, the position of the law is that a person who has dual citizenship by naturalisation or registration cannot contest for president in Nigeria,” the former AGF said.

“But a person who is born in Nigeria, and acquired citizenship in another country, has the right to contest an election. It would be strange to say that the winner of the election, Tinubu, has the citizenship of another country. You must prove first that he is not a Nigerian by birth. That is the first challenge and if you can prove that. Then you can bring up the issue of acquiring another citizenship.”

He also disclosed that the dual citizenship allegation was not included in the electoral petition of both parties and is “more of an academic exercise”, saying that it is too late to amend the appeal at this stage.

“I have seen the petition of the Labour Party and it was not an issue in the petition,” he said.

“I am also sure it is not an issue in the petition presented by former vice president Atiku Abubakar. The argument is more of an academic exercise. It is not a ground in the petition, and at this moment, you cannot amend the petition.”