Nigerian Citizenship Eligibility With Regard To Elected Offices

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) defines the three ways in which an individual can obtain Nigerian citizenship - namely by birth, registration, and naturalization. Specifically, Chapter 3 sections 25 though 28 lay out in some detail the various situations in which each form of citizenship is attained.

For the purposes of this piece, I'll main focus on the provisions that deal with citizenship by birth, and those which govern the qualifications for president, governors, National Assembly members, and House of Assembly members)

Section 25 (1) states: "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."

Thus, going by the aforementioned section, even a kid born outside Nigeria to at least one Nigerian parent, is a Nigerian citizen by birth.

With regard to citizenship eligibility to run for both legislative (National Assembly and state HOAs) and executive offices (President and governors), sections 28, 66 (1a), 131, and 177 (a) provide guidance.

Section 28 says: "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.

With regard to eligibility for election into the House of Representatives and/or the Senate, Section 66 (1a) states:
"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; "

With regards to presidential contenders, Section 131 says: "A person shall be qualified for election to the office of the President if -
(a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth..."

Citizenship eligibility for the office of governor is contained in Section 177 (a) which states that: "A person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if
(a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth;"

Therefore, a Nigerian citizen by birth, who has become a naturalized citizen of another country or who holds dual citizenship by birth, fulfills the constitutional citizenship requirement to seek and hold elected office in Nigeria.