The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, has described the claims of renouncing his Nigerian citizenship as misleading and inaccurate.
OsunDailyNG recalls that last week Thursday, an immigration lawyer in the United States, Olubusayo Fasidi, told the Lagos Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal that Hamzat took an oath of allegiance in the US to renounce his Nigerian citizenship.
However, in a statement by the deputy governor’s media office, Hamzat said the reports circulating are not the true reflections of the proceedings that took place at the tribunal.
According to the statement, the witness tendered two blank documents downloaded from the website of the US Embassy.
The deputy governor said the witness was unable to produce the actual documents that he purportedly took the oath of allegiance.
He urged the public to disregard the deliberate falsehood saying the testimony of the witness is under serious challenge.
The statement read, “When the witness was confronted with the fact that the only two documents, she was basing her claims on, were merely downloaded blank documents, the witness stated that she had downloaded the blank documents from the official website of the US Embassy.
“The witness was thus unable to produce the actual documents, the specific jurisdiction of the United States and the particular date when Dr Hamzat applied for naturalisation or took the purported oath of allegiance.
“She equally admitted that she had not attended the ceremony admitting Dr Hamzat as a citizen of the United States of America.
“During her cross-examination by counsel to the 4th respondent (APC), the witness admitted to the fact that the American constitution recognizes dual citizenship with particular reference to the 14th amendment to the constitution of the United States ratified on July 9, 1868.
“The witness was challenged further that the documents she tendered support the process of application for naturalisation which ultimately culminates in the issuance of an American passport and nothing more.
“The witness in reaction to additional questions confirmed that she did not need to obtain a Nigerian visiting visa because she entered the country with her Nigerian passport.
“With respect to the question whether the witness was aware that Dr Hamzat fully disclosed the details of his American citizenship in the Form EC9 submitted to INEC, the witness answered in the affirmative.
“The testimony of the witness in question is under serious challenge and in its final judgment, the tribunal will decide whether her testimony is admissible, given that she did not file a witness statement on oath and the self-contradiction of still using a Nigerian passport whilst claiming to have renounced Nigerian citizenship”
