Nigeria constitution on dual citizenship

According to Saharareporters, a passport page of Bukola Saraki was recently published on their Facebook page. The passport shows that the current senate president of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki is a dual citizen and a citizen of the United Kingdom.

             

Bukola Saraki was the former governor of Kwara state from 2003 to 2011 and had run for the office of the senate under All progressive Congress(APC). The current allegation against Bukola Saraki might mean the current senate president of Nigeria is not qualified to have run for any of the offices he held, even before he was elected senate president.

According to the Nigeria constitution protecting the office of the senate presidency, stating who is qualified to run for the position :

 66. (1) No person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or the House of Representatives if:

(a) subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, has made a declaration of allegiance to such a country;

(b) under any law in force in any part of Nigeria, he is adjudged to be a lunatic or otherwise declared to be of unsound mind;

(c) he is under a sentence of death imposed on him by any competent court of law or tribunal in Nigeria or a sentence of imprisonment or fine for an offence involving dishonesty or fraud (by whatever name called) or any other offence imposed on him by such a court or tribunal or substituted by a competent authority for any other sentence imposed on him by such a court;

(d) within a period of less than 10 years before the date of an election to a legislative house, he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of a contravention of the Code of Conduct;

(e) he is an undischarged bankrupt, having been adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any part of Nigeria;

(f) he is a person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any State and has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from such employment 30 days before the date of election;

(g) he is a member of a secret society;

(h) he has been indicted for embezzlement or fraud by Judicial Commission of Inquiry or an Administrative Panel of Inquiry or a Tribunal set up under the Tribunals of Inquiry Act, a Tribunals of Inquiry Law or any other law by the Federal or State Government which indictment has been accepted by the Federal or State Governments respectively; or.

(i) he has presented a forged certificate to the Independence National Electoral Commission.

 

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