Will Court Sack Hamzat Obafemi as the Deputy Governor of Lagos State?

The Lagos state governorship election petition took a dramatic turn in court the other day when an expert witness, Olubusayo Fasidi, a United State-based immigration lawyer, testified on oath in the election petition tribunal that the deputy governor, Mr Obafemi Hamzat had earlier renounced his Nigerian citizenship and acquired the citizenship of the United States of America.

If the Labour Party legal counsels decide to build their case around this corner, they are definitely gunning for the disqualification of Mr Hamzat Obafemi as the deputy governor-elect and by extension, the disqualification of Mr Babajide Sanwolu with whom they both shared the joint ticket and as well the nullification of the election that got Mr Babjide Sanwolu elected as governor and Mr Hamzat Obafemi elected as deputy Governor respectively on the constitutional ground of section 182 of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

It is a constitutional provision that anybody that has renounced his Nigerian citizenship and acquired the citizenship of another country is disqualified and barred for life from contesting for the office of the president of Nigeria or the office of the governor of a state. In the same vein, a person who has relinquished his Nigerian citizenship and has sworn the oath of allegiance to another country is automatically ineligible to contest for the office of the governor or share in the joint ticket and contest for the office of deputy governor.

This is the unequivocal provision of S 182 (1)(a) and it reads thus;

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 is a valid constitutional ground for the annulment of the certificate of return issued to Mr Babajide Sanwolu by the Independent National Electoral Commission as the governor-elect and disqualification of Mr Hamzat Obafemi as the deputy governor of Lagos state and by extension the sack of Mr Babajide Sanwolu with whom they both share the joint ticket on the ground that the Deputy Governor is ineligible to have contested in the election due to the fact that he is no longer a Nigerian citizen. This will possibly happen if the court holds in judgment that Mr Hamzat Obafemi is no longer a Nigerian citizen since he has relinquished his citizenship for the United States passport as testified by the expert witness.

The case of perjury (lying on oath) might as well raise its ugly head against the deputy governor because he must have ticked while filling out the deputy governorship nomination form that he is not a citizen of any other country other than Nigeria.

Readers should note that there was a similar incident in 2003 and the court of appeal gave a judgment on it in 2004. The court of appeal held in the case of HON. DR. WILLIE OGBEIDE  v. MR. R. E. ARIGBE OSULA & ORS (2013)LCN/6371(CA) that it is only a citizen who acquired the Nigerian citizenship by naturalization that can lose his Nigerian citizenship if he acquires the passport of another country but a Nigerian citizen by birth can enjoy dual citizenship; ie acquire the citizenship of another country without losing his Nigerian citizenship status but strongly believe that this court of appeal judgment will be overturned in the Supreme Court as this court of appeal position is a misrepresentation of the provisions of S182 of the constitution.