Emeka Ngige Is Wrong On The Effect Of Iwu’s Dual Citizenship

By

Obi Mbanaso

alloylaw@yahoo.com

 

 

In the public interest, especially as it concerns the rights of millions of Nigerian citizens in the Diaspora, I write this piece to oppose statements credited to Emeka Ngige, SAN, published by the Leadership Newspaper on December 3, 2007, quoting Attorney Ngige as postulating that Professor Maurice Iwu is ineligible to hold office as INEC Chair on grounds of Ngige’s allegation that Iwu holds dual nationality – of Nigeria (by birth) and the United States (by naturalization). I believe that another lawyer based in Nigeria made the same point in the Punch of same date. With all due respects to Emeka Ngige and the others purveying these untruths, I must say that I am utterly disappointed and troubled that a SAN like Ngige could get such a fundamental but simple provision of the Nigerian Constitution so wrong, and when aired in the public as he did, it becomes very embarrassing to him and the legal profession in Nigeria; besides the implicit threat his statements directed against the status of millions of Nigerians holding dual citizenship. Let me begin by saying that the core constitutional provisions on the effect of dual citizenship on qualification for public office are found in Section 28 (1); Section 66 (1) (a); Section 153 (1) (f); and Section 156 (1) (a) of the 1999 Constitution now in force, and for the sake of clarity and encouraging Emeka Ngige to be better informed about the laws of Nigeria, let me reproduce and interpret the said sections below:

 

Section 28 (1) provides that: “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” My interpretation of the letters and spirit of this section as they apply to Maurice Iwu and his qualification to hold office as INEC Chair is simple, and that is: Section 28 of the Constitution is not applicable to Iwu because he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth, pure and simple. The negative consequence of this section is intended to be applicable against only those Nigerians who acquired foreign citizenship without first being citizens of Nigeria by birth or lineage (such as citizens of Nigeria by naturalization or registration). Even if Iwu is also a citizen of the United States by birth (which Ngige knows he is not), Iwu would still be eligible to hold high office provided he is also a citizen of Nigeria by the other means saved by the Constitution such as his parents being citizens of Nigeria by birth (the lineage doctrine), but not where he is a citizen of Nigeria by fiat or executive discretion - which he is not because credible accounts show that he was borne in Nigeria of native Nigerian parents from Imo State. By the same interpretation, even Iwu’s children and others who might have been borne in the Diaspora of Nigerian parents are all eligible to run for the House of Representatives and thus hold other high offices captured by the provisions at issue.

 

Therefore, assuming that Iwu acquired citizenship of United States by naturalization and also subscribed to some oath of allegiance to the United States, his right to hold office as INEC Chair or run for the House of Representatives is saved by the sheer fact that he also holds Nigerian citizenship by birth, and not by the other discretionary means indicated above. And the claim by Ngige that Section 66 disqualifies Iwu is deceitful and exhibits a blatant and troubling misunderstanding of the plain meaning of the Nigerian Constitution by a lawyer of his standing. Below is the provision in question.

 

Section 66 (1) (a) provides that: “no person shall be qualified for election to the Senate or House of Representatives if – 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 country”. Again, the plain meaning of this section demonstrates that Section 28 cited above is controlling and unambiguously so, as found in the limiting language rendering the broad sentence of Section 66 subject to the saving sentence of Section 28. In other words, even if Iwu voluntarily acquired United States citizenship or made a declaration of allegiance to the United States, he is still eligible to hold office as someone qualified for election to either the Senate or House of Representatives simply because he is a Nigerian citizenship by birth, strengthened by the additional fact that his parents and even grandparents are also citizens of Nigeria by birth and the ethnic group to which Iwu belongs – the Igbos are known to be indigenous to Nigeria. Thus, Iwu would be disabled only if he is a Nigerian citizen by other means such as through any of the discretionary grants already mentioned. So both Sections 28 and 66 must be read together and interpreted to conform to the plain meaning of the black letters expressly limiting the overbroad application of Section 66.

 

Section 153 (1) (f) provides that the Independent Electoral Commission which Iwu heads shall be one of the bodies “established for the Federation”. And Section 156 (1) (a) provides that “No person shall be qualified for appointment as a member of any of the bodies aforesaid if – he is not qualified or, if he is disqualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives”. As already demonstrated in the preceding paragraphs, this section again is not applicable to Maurice Iwu or others like him in the Diaspora because the section cannot be read and understood without referring back to Section 66 where the elements of the said qualification are clearly spelt out. And once you pedal back to Section 66, the plain language immediately compels you back to Section 28 where the Constitution stated the true meaning and limited application intended by the framers and the people of Nigeria as a shield possessed of every Nigerian who is a citizen by birth. Thus, Section 28 controls all and saved the day for any Nigerian citizen by birth to continue to be eligible to hold exalted offices notwithstanding the concurrent presence of citizenship of, or some oath of allegiance to another country. The only possible situations where any Nigerian citizen may be barred would be one of the few situations where citizenship was acquired by means other than by birth, which is no where near-applicable to Iwu. Therefore, Professor Maurice Iwu is eligible by any interpretation of the Nigerian Constitution to hold office as Chairman of INEC.

 

On the basis of the foregoing, I would advise Emeka Ngige to do the right and honorable thing by making a public retraction of his misinformed utterances and publicly apologize to Iwu and Nigerians in Diaspora. Anything less may be deemed malicious and a basis to assume that Ngige’s true intention is to whip up sentiments against Nigerians in Diaspora.

 

Obi Mbanaso wrote in from Washington, DC