Lagos 2027: Rhodes-Vivour questions Hamzat’s eligibility over US allegiance

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, has questioned the eligibility of Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat to contest the 2027 governorship election, citing his alleged oath of allegiance to the United States.

Rhodes-Vivour raised the issue on Tuesday while appearing on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, recalling the controversy surrounding Hamzat’s eligibility during the 2023 governorship election.

He said his legal team had relied on the alleged US oath while challenging Hamzat’s qualification, arguing that a Nigerian public office holder should not simultaneously owe allegiance to another country.

“We focused on the fact that this current person that wants to contest for governor, deputy governor, swore an oath of allegiance to another country,” Rhodes-Vivour said.

“Constitutionally, that is one of the number one reasons to dismiss a candidate or dismiss somebody that emerges as the governor.”

During the 2023 election petition proceedings, Olubusayo Fasidi, an immigration lawyer, had testified before the Lagos State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal that Hamzat applied for US naturalisation and took an oath of allegiance to the country.

Fasidi, however, told the tribunal that she was invited to explain US immigration law and was not familiar with Nigeria’s constitutional provisions on dual citizenship.

Rhodes-Vivour also criticised the conduct of the 2023 election, alleging incidents of violence and intimidation across the state.

He said Nigerians should elect public officials whose loyalty is exclusively to the country.

The ADC candidate further argued that Hamzat could have publicly renounced any alleged US allegiance before seeking elective office, citing former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as an example.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has endorsed Hamzat as the APC candidate for the Lagos governorship election.