Oyo gov election: PDP heads for tribunal *Accuses Ajimobi of having dual citizenship

Written by Yemi Banjo
Thursday, May 19, 2011

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged the victory of the Oyo State governor-elect, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), on the grounds that the governor-elect holds dual citizenship.


L-R: Abiola Ajimobi, governor Adebayo Alao-Akala


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In a petition filed at the Oyo State governorship election tribunal in Ibadan, on Tuesday, by its team of lawyers, the PDP averred that Senator Ajimobi was at the time he contested the governorship election, not qualified to contest the said election having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the United States of America, in contravention of Section 182 (1)(a) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

The section of the constitution says: "No person shall be qualified for election to the office of governor of a state if; subject to the provision of 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, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country."

Apart from Ajimobi, other parties listed as respondents in the petition are the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Buttressing its allegation of non-qualification of Senator Ajimobi, the petitioner (PDP) stated that the governor-elect, although a citizen of Nigeria by birth, had voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the United States of America in April, 1999.

The PDP further averred that Senator Ajimobi was not eligible and qualified to contest for the office of the governor of Oyo State having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the United States of America, thereby having or maintaining dual citizenship status at the time he contested the election.

The petitioner said it would rely on the following documents during the hearing of the petition:

Documents from the American embassy in Nigeria as to the citizenship status of Senator Ajimobi

Documents from the United States of America as to the citizenship status of the governor-elect.

International passport of the governor-elect.

Certificate of the citizenship of the governor-elect.

According to the petitioner, "Senator Ajimobi, United States of America's citizenship social security number is #:127-57-8533 and stated his date of birth as December 16, 1949 and residence as 745 Red Oak Lane, University Park IL60466-2964."

The petitioner (PDP) prayed the tribunal that it should determine that Senator Ajimobi was not qualified to contest the governorship election in Oyo State having voluntarily acquired the citizenship of the United States of America.

The petitioner also urged the tribunal to determine that its standard-bearer, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, scored the majority of the lawful vote cast in the April 26, 2011 governorship election in Oyo State having scored 387,132 votes and ought to be returned as duly elected.

In the alternative, the petitioner is praying for an order nullifying the governorship election conducted by the INEC on April 26, 2011 and order a fresh election for the office of the governor of Oyo State.

The petitioner's team of lawyers who filed the petition is made up of Mr N.O.O. Oke (SAN), Mr Titus Ashaolu (SAN), Mr R. Lawal-Rabana (SAN), Professor Justus Shofekun, Mr Kunle Lalude and Mr Waheed Olajide.

source: Nigeria 1999 constitution

Chapter III
Citizenship

25. (1) The following persons are citizens of Nigeria by birth-namely-
(a) every person born in Nigeria before the date of independence,
either of whose parents or any of whose grandparents belongs or
belonged to a community indigenous to Nigeria;
Provided that a person shall not become a citizen of Nigeria by virtue
of this section if neither of his parents nor any of his grandparents
was born in Nigeria.
(b) every person born in Nigeria after the date of independence either
of whose parents or any of whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria;
and
(c) every person born outside Nigeria either of whose parents is a
citizen of Nigeria.
(2) In this section, "the date of independence" means the 1st day of
October 1960.

26. (1) Subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, a
person to whom the provisions of this section apply may be registered as a
citizen of Nigeria, if the President is satisfied that -
(a) he is a person of good character;
(b) he has shown a clear intention of his desire to be domiciled in
Nigeria; and
(c) he has taken the Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh
Schedule to this Constitution.
(2) the provisions of this section shall apply to-
(a) any woman who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria; or
(b) every person of full age and capacity born outside Nigeria any of
whose grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria.

27. (1) Subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, any
person who is qualified in accordance with the provisions of this section
may apply to the President for the same of a certificate of naturalisation.
(2) No person shall be qualified to apply for the grant of a certificate
or naturalisation, unless he satisfies the President that -
(a) he is a person of full age and capacity;
(b) he is a person of good character;
(c) he has shown a clear intention of his desire to be domiciled in
Nigeria;
(d) he is, in the opinion of the Governor of the State where he is or
he proposes to be resident, acceptable to the local community in which
he is to live permanently, and has been assimilated into the way of
life of Nigerians in that part of the Federation;
(e) he is a person who has made or is capable of making useful
contribution to the advancement; progress and well-being of Nigeria;
(f) he has taken the Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh
Schedule to this Constitution; and
(g) he has, immediately preceding the date of his application, either-
(i) resided in Nigeria for a continuous period of fifteen years; or
(ii) resided in Nigeria continuously for a period of twelve months,
and during the period of twenty years immediately preceding that
period of twelve months has resided in Nigeria for periods amounting
in the aggregate to not less than fifteen years.

28. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, a person shall
forfeit forthwith his Nigerian citizenship if, not being a citizen of
Nigeria by birth, he acquires or retains the citizenship or nationality of a
country, other than Nigeria, of which he is not a citizen by birth.
(2) Any registration of a person as a citizen of Nigeria or the grant of a
certificate of naturalisation to a person who is a citizen of a country
other than Nigeria at the time of such registration or grant shall, if he
is not a citizen by birth of that other country, be conditional upon
effective renunciation of the citizenship or nationality of that other
country within a period of not more than five months from the date of such
registration or grant.

29. (1) Any citizen of Nigeria of full age who wishes to renounce his
Nigerian citizenship shall make a declaration in the prescribed manner for
the renunciation.
(2) The President shall cause the declaration made under subsection (1) of
this section to be registered and upon such registration, the person who
made the declaration shall cease to be a citizen of Nigeria.
(3) The President may withhold the registration of any declaration made
under subsection (1) of this section if-
(a) the declaration is made during any war in which Nigeria is
physically involved; or
(b) in his opinion, it is otherwise contrary to public policy.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section.
(a) "full age" means the age of eighteen years and above;
(b) any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.

30. (1) The President may deprive a person, other than a person who is a
citizen of Nigeria by birth or by registration, of his citizenship, if he is
satisfied that such a person has, within a period of seven years after
becoming naturalised, been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less
than three years.
(2) The President shall deprive a person, other than a person who is
citizen of Nigeria by birth, of his citizenship, if he is satisfied from
the records of proceedings of a court of law or other tribunal or after
due inquiry in accordance with regulations made by him, that -
(a) the person has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal
towards the Federal Republic of Nigeria; or
(b) the person has, during any war in which Nigeria was engaged,
unlawfully traded with the enemy or been engaged in or associated with
any business that was in the opinion of the president carried on in
such a manner as to assist the enemy of Nigeria in that war, or
unlawfully communicated with such enemy to the detriment of or with
intent to cause damage to the interest of Nigeria.

31. For the purposes of this Chapter, a parent or grandparent of a person
shall be deemed to be a citizen of Nigeria if at the time of the birth of
that person such parent or grandparent would have possessed that status by
birth if he had been alive on the date of independence; and in this section,
"the date of independence" has the meaning assigned to it in section 25 (2)
of this Constitution.

Big B1:

I think it has been confirmed that[size=14pt] the faggott is an American[/size]. What an idiotttt and a typical example of why Nigeria is this screwed up.
These motherfkers step on the rule of law in the day time without any hesitation.
How can we move forward when folks like Ajimobi can not just simply obey the law?
What is the difference btw Ajimobi and a common area boy? Not much.

Now let us talk about what is on the ground.
Yes, Ajimobi screwed up, but that doesn't mean that Akala will just walk back to be the governor of Oyo state for the 2nd time. The mandate of the people of Oyo state must still be acknowledged. Hence, the spot still belongs to the AC N party. I believe the deputy governor will be moved up to be the governor while they look for a replacement for his original spot.

Ajimobi screwed up, AC N did not screwed up.


I honestly feel bad for all the great Nigerians that took their precious time out to campaign and support Ajimobi. I hope these folks are compensated for their priceless time and their pure dedication.

177. A person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if
(a) [size=14pt]he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth[/size];
(b) he has attained the age of thirty-five years;
(c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and
(d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

182. (1) No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State 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, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country;

Big B1:

I think it has been confirmed that the faggott is an American. What an idiotttt and a typical example of why Nigeria is this screwed up.
These motherfkers step on the rule of law in the day time without any hesitation.
How can we move forward when folks like Ajimobi can not just simply obey the law?
What is the difference btw Ajimobi and a common area boy? Not much.

koruji:

You people need to read what the constitution actually says and see that:

1. Our constitution allows dual citizenship.

2. Nothing, except voluntary renounciation, can forfeit a natural citizen of Nigeria ([size=14pt]which includes those born abroad to at least one Nigerian parent[/size]) of their citizenship.

Some people have money to waste sha!!!

Insert Quote
I know we are talking here about somebody voluntarily acquiring citizenship of another country, but we know that the Nigerian constitution is a bunch of contradictions:

Does this mean you cannot have dual citizenship and be governor - a long battle in the courts is coming!!!

The problem is that section 182 is subject to section 28, which is subject to its surrounding sections 25-27 and 29-31. A very perfect conundrum of confusion.

Alxmyr:

The constitution allow dual citizenship.
Albeit, there are some positions you cannot hold if you have acquire citizenship of another country.
The positions are President, Vice-President and Governor of a state.
The law bar you from holding such offices if you have dual citizenship and have not renounce the citizenship of the other country.

Alxmyr:

The constitution allow dual citizenship.
Albeit, there are some positions you cannot hold if you have acquire citizenship of another country.
The positions are President, Vice-President and Governor of a state.
The law bar you from holding such offices if you have dual citizenship and have not renounce the citizenship of the other country.

The clause is also that renunciation should be done within five months of registration? Isn't Ajimobi now out of time should he be considering renuncing his American citizenship?

donspony:

This scenario get k-leg

apoti:

Did you even bother to check those sections of the constitution before you started vomiting rubbish from your dumb brain

FYI this is what the constitution says

Section 28 (1) of the Constitution:

28. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section, a person shall forfeit forthwith his Nigerian citizenship if, not being a citizen of Nigeria by birth, he acquires or retains the citizenship or nationality of a country, other than Nigeria, of which he is not a citizen by birth.

Section 182 (1):

182. (1) No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor
of a State 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, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country

This clearly shows there's no case, Akala is just wasting his time and money, fcuuking loser