The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has reacted to a dual citizenship allegation linked to President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
Fashola expressed doubt over constitutionally provided restrictions placed on a presidential candidate with dual citizenship from contesting elections.
Speaking with Channels Television, the Minister said;
“I know he carries a Nigerian passport; I don’t know about dual citizenship.”
The Former Chief of Staff to Tinubu, however, said the speculation does not alter the outcome of the February 25 election.
The said:
“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?”
Photo of what looked like a Guinean passport with Tinubu as its holder was widely shared online over the weekend.
Thereafter, allegations of Tinubu purportedly being a citizen of both Nigeria and Guinea generated uproar among netizens, especially those who seemed to be against his emergence as the President-elect of Nigeria.
Fashola who doubted if the provisions cited applied to presidential candidates said he would need to revisit the constitution to verify.
He said:
“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.”
