Hundreds of Foreigners Acquire Nigerian Citizenship

Hundreds of Foreigners Acquire Nigerian Citizenship

No fewer than 385 foreigners which include eight British and six American citizens have acquired Nigerian citizenship.

President Muhammadu Buhari who was represented by the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, conferred the citizenship on the eligible 385 applicants for the Nigerian citizenship at a ceremony in Abuja.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, made this known at the 1st 2023 Conferment ceremony of Nigeria Citizenship by Naturalisation and Registration on Saturday in Abuja.

The minister said one of the objectives of the present administration was to lay a solid socio- economic and political foundation that would elevate Nigeria into one of the 20 great economies of the world.

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, said to achieve this vision, the federal government was determined to encourage and attract foreigners, investors, resourceful individuals and people with rare talents and unbounded energy into the country.

According to him, “The Ministry had sought and got the approval of the Federal Executive Council to execute new pathways to permanent residency for eligible foreign nationals.

“The Minister of Interior has therefore been vested with the power to: Execute guidelines for Permanent Residency for foreign nationals of African descent who desired to make Nigeria their homeland through the ‘Privilege of Return’.

Those granted Nigerian citizenship included 8 British, 6 Americans, 8 Israeli, and 187 Lebanese amongst others.

In the remarks, the Minister of Interior Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, announced that new pathways for conferment of citizenship of foreign nationals have been designed.

According to him, “The Ministry had sought and got the approval of the Federal Executive Council to execute new pathways to permanent residency for eligible foreign nationals.

“The Minister of Interior has therefore been vested with the power to: Execute guidelines for Permanent Residency for foreign nationals of African descent who desired to make Nigeria their homeland through the ‘Privilege of Return’.

Execute and clarify existing guidelines to provide Permanent Residence to foreign nationals who desired to invest in Nigeria in line with established guidelines

“Execute and clarify guidelines to grant Permanent Residence to foreign nationals who had demonstrated exceptional talents, knowledge and skills in rare fields of Science, Technology, Medicine, Engineering, the Arts, Sports and other areas as might be determined from time to time.

“Execute guidelines to grant Permanent Residence to male foreign nationals married to Nigerian women for a minimum period of one year”

Aregbesola took the audience through the history of the conferment of Nigerian citizenship on foreigners since its inception, disclosing that the first person to be naturalised as a Nigerian was Miss. Theresia Chidiac of No 16A, Manchester Road, Kano, Nigeria on 18th July 1964.

This was premised on Section 7(1) of the then-1963 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which separates, by definition, a Nigerian from a non-Nigerian.

“The bane of the smooth pathway to Nigerian citizenship however is the constitutional requirement of continuous residency in Nigeria for 15 years.

“This is a huge disincentive, considering that in the United States and most European countries, it is five years. Some of these countries have made a habit of snatching young and resourceful brains – who after four years of schooling and working for just one year – through easy pathways, to obtain quality migration to their countries,” he said.

The minister, however, congratulated the new Nigerians who have scaled the hurdle to proudly become Nigerians, adding that Nigerians are among the greatest people on the earth and well-revered across the globe.

He assured them that they would not regret the decision they have made to become Nigerians, reminding them, however, that every privilege goes with responsibility.
“You will be required to make the best contribution ever to Nigeria’s development in every area, including the defence of its territorial integrity if need be and promotion of the welfare of the people.”
He, however, welcomed them all to Nigerian citizenship.