The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has
expressed doubt over constitutionally provided restrictions placed on a presidential
candidate with dual citizenship from contesting elections.
The former Lagos State governor shared his perspective,
given photos of what appeared to be a Guinean passport with the
President-elect, Bola Tinubu, as its holder being widely shared online over the
weekend.
The allegations of Tinubu purportedly being a citizen of
both Nigeria and Guinea generated uproar among netizens, especially those
opposed to his emergence as the President-elect in the February 25 election.
“I know he carries a Nigerian passport; I don’t know about
dual citizenship,” Fashola, a former chief of staff to Tinubu, said during his
live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics.
“I know he resided abroad when he went on exile. I don’t
know if they gave him American citizenship there. What does that have to do
with the results of the election? The last time I checked, I think Nigeria’s
constitution allows you to have dual citizenship?”
Asked if the provisions cited applied to presidential
candidates, the Senior Advocate Nigeria (SAN) said he would need to revisit the
constitution for the specifics of its provision on the matter.
“I’ll go and check. It’s ‘place of birth’ o… if you were
born to Nigerian parents. I’ll check that, but I doubt that the Nigerian
constitution makes you disentitled if you have dual citizenship because the
constitution allows you to have dual citizenship,” he added.
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