Aged 70, Chief Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu was announced winner of the Nigerian presidential election on February 25, 2023. The inauguration is scheduled for next May, but a major obstacle could prevent him from becoming president of the Republic.

A capture of his Guinean passport was broadcast by Guinean and Nigerian media. Bola Tinubu has a “Guinean diplomatic” passport which would have been issued to him through his friend Alpha Condé, during the latter’s reign.

However, the Nigerian Constitution prohibits presidential candidates from holding any nationality other than Nigerian. For Nigerians, Mr. Tinubu’s failure to disclose this information is a violation of the Constitution of Nigeria and a betrayal of the trust of the Nigerian people. It was Earl Chukwu Ebuka Ogbodo Eze, a Nigerian activist who discovered the pot of roses, before tweeting: “The revelation that Mr. Tinubu, the declared president-elect of INEC holds dual nationality with Guinea Conakry, who he never disclosed, raises significant concerns about his eligibility for the sacred office of president. This is not only a violation of the Nigerian constitution but also a betrayal of the trust of the Nigerian people,” reports a Nigerian media source.

Section 137 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Nigeria provides that a person shall not be qualified to be elected to the office of President if he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in cases prescribed by the National Assembly, has made a declaration of allegiance to such country.

By not declaring his Guinean passport, Bola Tinubu created “legitimate doubts about his allegiance to Nigeria, and this unfortunately affects his eligibility to hold the office of President”.

This former taxi driver declared winner of the presidential edition in Nigeria would have helped Alpha Condé to succeed in his knockout blow in 2015

According to the Nigerian press, Bola Tinubu helped Alpha Condé win the presidential elections of October 11, 2015. He convinced Alpha Condé not to postpone the elections despite the opposition’s request.

For the record, Alpha Condé went to Nigeria in May 2015 to attend the inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari. It was there that he met Tinubu to learn more about Nigeria’s political and electoral experience. In June 2015, Tinubu traveled to Conakry to assess the country’s political situation and the direction of presidential campaigns. He then moved to Conakry with a planning team to join Alpha Condé’s campaign team. The date of issue of his Guinean diplomatic passport coincides with the same period. This, to facilitate his work in Conakry and for “good and loyal service”.

The Nigerian press indicates that the Tinubu team worked in Guinea on political messages, speeches, interventions on social networks, monitoring of elections and the fight against opponents. They also set up the ROBO appeal system, which involved sending automated messages from Alpha Condé to millions of voters asking for their support.

Bola’s inauguration is scheduled for next May. Until then, Nigerian authorities are said to be investigating Tinubu’s alleged dual nationality. If it is found that he did indeed possess dual nationality at the time of the election, he could be disqualified from serving as president.

It should already be pointed out that having a diplomatic passport is not synonymous with dual nationality and since he had come at the request of President Alpha Condé, we can deduce that he was there for a “mission diplomatic”.