Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has debunked claims by UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch that Nigerian law prevents women from passing citizenship to their children.
Badenoch, in a recent interview, alleged she could not transfer her Nigerian citizenship to her children because she is a woman. Dabiri-Erewa dismissed the statement as “entirely untrue” and “misleading,” citing Section 25(1)(c) of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution, which grants citizenship to anyone born outside Nigeria if either parent is Nigerian.
“You can’t lie about your country and expect us to keep quiet,” Dabiri-Erewa stated during an appearance on Channels Television.
Badenoch’s remarks have drawn widespread backlash from Nigerians, including human rights lawyer Femi Falana, who labelled her comments as “utter ignorance” and accused her of misleading the British public.
This is not the first time Badenoch has faced criticism over her statements about Nigeria. In 2024, Vice President Kashim Shettima and former Minister Femi Fani-Kayode also rebuked her for comments deemed disparaging to her country of origin.
Badenoch, born in London in 1980, spent part of her childhood in Nigeria and the U.S. She returned to the UK at 16 and became the first Black leader of a UK-wide political party in November 2024 after winning the Conservative Party leadership.
