President Muhammadu Buhari has conferred Nigerian citizenship on 385 foreign nationals, declaring them worthy of being citizens of Nigeria after meeting all necessary conditions.
The conferment was conducted on behalf of the President by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Nigeria Correctional Service headquarters in Abuja.
President Buhari said his administration gave citizenship to more foreigners than any administration so far, asserting that the gesture was to encourage foreign investment and boost the nation’s economy.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola said those conferred with citizenship met the stringent conditions attached to it and called for the review of the Nigerian Constitution to allow more foreign nationals to apply for citizenship.
He said in Europe and the United States, foreigners who had lived there could apply for citizenship after five years, but wondered why in Nigeria foreigners would have to wait for 15 years before they could apply for Nigeria citizenship.
Aregbesola said: “That we have a high number of foreigners willing to become Nigerians is an indication that the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to make Nigeria a destination for investment and peaceful coexistence is beginning to yield good fruits.
“I must state also that it is under our administration that the largest number of foreigners have been naturalised.
“Between 2011 and 2013, a total of 266 foreigners became Nigerians. In 2017, 335 people took up Nigerian citizenship. But last year, 286 and today at this ceremony, 385, making a total of 671 have acquired Nigerian citizenship”.
