Nigeria’s first female deputy gov makes U-turn in renouncing citizenship over Tinubu’s victory

Nigeria's first-ever female deputy governor, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has withdrawn her decision to renounce her Nigerian citizenship following Bola Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29.

Prior to this move, Ojikutu, a deputy governor to ex-Lagos state governor Sir Michael Otedola, has earlier said that should Tinubu win the election, she would renounce and citizenship and travel to another country where she would live her life.

Speaking in an interview with Punch, Ojikutu noted that rejecting her country of birth and origin goes against the doctrine of Islam.
She said:

"Renouncing now is another problem because a Muslim scholar told me that I misread the Quran. He asked me whether Prophet Mohammed (SAW) renounced his affiliation with Mecca despite the death threat he got.

"So, I cannot reject Nigeria. He said even if I said I wanted to migrate, there were conditions attached to it."

According to her, after careful consideration and advise from some people she couldn’t go against, she has been compelled to stay for some reasons.

Ojikutu said:

"The Muslim community approached me. Some said I should maybe continue to keep quiet. But what I keep telling them is that to the best of my knowledge, I didn’t offend him (Tinubu) to the level that it became a death threat. If there is more to it, he should bring it out so that it can be resolved.

"So, it is not the question of paying my emolument alone; it is now the question of what I may have done that would have led to his statement, “Is she still around?"