House of Representatives is discussing a bill aimed at granting citizenship rights to foreigners who are married to Nigerian women.
Gatekeepers News reports that this legislation, sponsored by Akin Alabi, an All Progressives Congress (APC) representative for the Egbeda federal constituency in Oyo State, successfully passed its second reading during a plenary session on Thursday.
If approved, the bill would amend Section 26 of the 1999 Constitution, which pertains to citizenship by registration.
Currently, section 26(1) states that 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) they are of good character;
(b) they have demonstrated a clear intention to reside in Nigeria; and
(c) they have taken the oath of allegiance prescribed in the seventh schedule of the constitution.
Section 26 (2) (a) stipulates that the provisions of this section shall apply to any woman who is or has been married to a citizen of Nigeria.
Section 26(2)(b) extends eligibility to any person of full age and capacity born outside Nigeria, provided that at least one of their grandparents was a Nigerian citizen.
The proposed amendment seeks to replace the word “woman” in section 26(2)(a) with “person”, thereby making the provision gender-neutral.
