Former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Michael Aondoakaa, has said that having dual citizenship cannot disqualify anyone who is a Nigerian by birth from contesting elections in the country.
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Aondoakaa said this during an interview on Arise TV on Tuesday, April 25, following the controversy that trailed claim of President-elect, Bola Tinubu, allegedly obtaining citizenship of Guinea.
Reacting to the controversy, the former AGF said;
“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.
“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.
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“I have seen the petition of the Labour Party and it was not an issue in the petition. 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.”
