The Nigerian presidency has fired back at UK Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, over comments she made about Nigerian citizenship laws.

Badenoch, while speaking on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS, had claimed that her children couldn’t get Nigerian citizenship simply because she, their mother, is not married to a Nigerian man. She made the statement while comparing Nigeria's immigration laws with the United Kingdom’s, saying the UK is too lenient with immigrants—unlike countries like Nigeria.

But her comments didn’t go unnoticed.

In a strong response posted on social media, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, accused Badenoch of repeatedly misrepresenting Nigeria and misleading the public.

He explained that under Nigerian law, any child born to a Nigerian woman who is a citizen by birth is automatically considered a Nigerian citizen—no matter who the father is or where the child is born.

“Aunty @KemiBadenoch, why do you continue to lie against your motherland?” Olusegun posted on X (formerly Twitter). “Your children, whether born in Nigeria or abroad, are Nigerian citizens by descent under Section 25 of the Nigerian Constitution. No need for registration or naturalisation.”

He backed up his claim by quoting Chapter 3, Section 25 (1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees citizenship by descent through the mother, so long as she is a Nigerian by birth.

This public clapback adds to the growing tension between diaspora Nigerians in politics and the Nigerian government, especially on matters of identity, representation, and facts.