By Obi Ogadi
The gubernatorial candidate of the Progressive People Alliance (PPA) today in the Grand Finale of the Anambra State governorship debates admitted that he is a dual citizenship, being a citizen of Britain and Nigeria.
This development brings the candidate face- to face with Section 182 Subsection 1 paragraph (a) of the Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. Section 182 1(a) of the constition reads:
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.
The confirmation is raising questions regarding whether INEC has done a thorough job of screening the gubernatorial candidates.
Mr Thomas Ikenna, a participant in the debate noted that ‘INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) still has a lot to do to assure people that they are doing their job’ Ezeemo was also confronted with the fact of his conviction by a British court also tried to exonerate himself from the conviction charge when he claimed that he was involved in the conviction by virtue of the fact that he is a Director in Orient Export.
However facts available show that he was convicted in his personal capacity along with this son Chika Ezeemo and the company as separate persons.
