Former head of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Muhammed Babandede, has responded to Kemi Badenoch, a top UK politician, over her comment about not being able to pass Nigerian citizenship to her kids because she’s a woman.

Babandede posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, saying Badenoch’s claim isn’t true. He was reacting to her interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

In the interview, Badenoch compared immigration laws in the UK and Nigeria. Zakaria asked her if she would allow Nigerian immigrants to bring their full culture into the UK. She firmly replied, “no.”

She explained that most Nigerians wouldn’t allow foreigners to do that in Nigeria, so it’s fair for the UK to also set limits.

Badenoch went further to give a personal example. She claimed that even though she’s a Nigerian citizen, her children can’t become Nigerians because she’s a woman.

But Babandede disagreed with her. He said that Nigerian law clearly allows citizenship through either parent, not just the father.

He pointed out Section 25 of Nigeria’s Constitution, which states that anyone whose mother or father—or even grandparents—are Nigerians by birth, can also be Nigerian.

As someone who once managed Nigeria’s citizenship matters, Babandede said this law covers children of both male and female Nigerian citizens.