Following the disclosure of Bola Tinubu's diplomatic passport from Guinea on social media, which sparked outrage over how the incoming president of Africa's largest economy lied to the country's electoral commission while under oath, the Tinubu camp has been unusually silent.
Independent journalist David Hundeyin posted pictures of a diplomatic passport from Guinea bearing the name "Bola Ahmed Tinubu" on his Twitter account on Saturday night, just before midnight. The passport, which also featured Mr. Tinubu's image, stated that it had been issued in October 2015 and would expire in October 2020.
The passport appears to have been given to Mr. Tinubu while his ally Alpha Conde served as president of Guinea. In October 2015, Mr. Tinubu had publicly taken credit for aiding Mr. Conde in winning reelection. A military coup deposed the president of Guinea in 2021.
The ruling party in Nigeria, the APC, nominated Mr. Tinubu at its convention on June 8, 2022. His whereabouts have remained a mystery since he secretly traveled to Europe around March 20, and he was later declared the victor of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, Mr. Tinubu's two main rivals, have contested his election as the nation's next president in a dispute that could take up to 240 days to reach the Supreme Court.
The president-elect's surrogates have been steadfastly silent following the most recent revelation that he has acquired Guinean citizenship.
Normally quick to defend their principal with forceful statements, Dele Alake, Festus Keyamo, and Bayo Onanuga have been oddly quiet and have avoided the subject. On Sunday, numerous attempts to reach Messrs. Keyamo and Onanuga for comment failed.
Mr. Alake asserted that he was unable to comment on his principal's dual citizenship or the possibility of perjury charges stemming from his oath-taking denial of a foreign passport.
The team known for its defensive rebuttals has also been strangely quiet on social media, in contrast to Segun Dada and Jubril Gawat.
Due to the possibility of legal actions being taken due to constitutional violations, the dual citizenship issue, which has made Mr. Tinubu trend on Twitter for hours, is likely to rule public discourse during the ongoing election petition trial.
A person is ineligible to serve as president under Section 137(1)(a) of the Nigerian Constitution if "he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria."
However, courts have consistently interpreted that section of the Constitution as not applying to people who were born in Nigeria or who were citizens who had either one or both Nigerian parents.
Despite having British citizenship, Bukola Saraki served as governor of Kwara state for two terms before becoming Senate President.
The accusation of perjury still hangs over Mr. Tinubu, who claimed to have never acquired citizenship of another country in his form EC-9, which served as his application for the presidency, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
When asked on the form by INEC, "Have you voluntarily acquired citizenship of any other country," Mr. Tinubu checked "NO."
On the form, he also added his signature and swore that the data was "correct, true, and to the best of my knowledge."
While Mr. Tinubu's dual citizenship may not be a problem given that he was born in Nigeria, he is expected to fight to clear his name of any perjury charges that may be brought against him.
Shortly after he was elected governor of Lagos in 1999, Mr. Tinubu encountered a comparable legal dilemma. He had exaggerated his attendance at elementary and secondary schools without providing any supporting documentation. In addition, he stated falsely that he had attended the University of Chicago.
He was not charged, though, as he was already the governor in office and immune from prosecution under the law. At the time, he also asserted that the INEC document was completed on his behalf by his political ally Tokunbo Afikuyomi and that he did not knowingly make any false statements on it. Asserting that he merely assumed his principal attended the schools, Mr. Afikuyomi publicly acknowledged completing the forms for Mr. Tinubu.
It is still unknown if the Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which are currently contesting the electoral system that gave Mr. Tinubu his victory, will be able to present the case in support of their petitions at the presidential elections petition tribunal.
Both the PDP and Labour have passed the deadline of 21 days for amending their petitions. The deadline might be extended, though, if the presiding judges find the PDP and LP's case to be strong enough.
When contacted for comment on whether there were consequences for making false statements on the EC-9 form, Festus Okoye, the electoral commission's spokesperson, did not respond right away. The electoral office has the authority to bring charges against offenders. Perjury is a crime, and lying on INEC forms could result in legal action from the federal government.