Presidential Aide Slams Kemi Badenoch Over False Claims About Nigerian Citizenship Law

A top aide to the Nigerian president, Dada Olusegun, has strongly criticized UK politician Kemi Badenoch for making what he called misleading comments about Nigerian citizenship law.

Kemi Badenoch, a British Conservative Party leader and UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, caused a stir during an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN.

In the interview, aired on Sunday, Badenoch claimed that as a Nigerian woman, she cannot pass on her citizenship to her children. She made the comment while comparing UK citizenship laws with those of Nigeria.

Responding on Monday through his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Dada Olusegun called her statement both untrue and harmful to Nigeria’s image.

“Aunty @KemiBadenoch, why do you continue to lie against your motherland?” he wrote. “Why this continuous, dangerous, and desperate attempt to malign Nigeria?”

Olusegun referred to the Nigerian Constitution to support his argument. He pointed out that Section 25(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) clearly states that a child born outside Nigeria is a Nigerian citizen by birth if either parent is a Nigerian citizen by birth.

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This means that both Nigerian men and women have equal rights to pass on citizenship to their children born abroad.

“You do not need to apply for registration or naturalisation for such a child to be a citizen,” Olusegun explained. He added that Badenoch was either misinformed or intentionally spreading wrong information.

Kemi Badenoch, born in the UK to Nigerian parents, spent part of her childhood in Lagos before returning to the UK at 16. She is married to a Scottish banker and has three children.

In his final comments, Olusegun urged public figures with Nigerian roots, especially those in positions of power, to speak responsibly.

He warned that sharing false information can strengthen negative stereotypes and create unnecessary tension about Nigeria and its laws.

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