Bronwen Manby and Solomon Momoh (d) he is, in the opinion of the Governor of the State where he is or he proposes to be resident, acceptable to the local community in which he is to live permanently, and has been assimilated into the way of life of Nigerians in that part of the Federation; (e) he is a person who has made or is capable of making useful contribution to the advancement; progress and well-being of Nigeria; (f) he has taken the Oath of Allegiance prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution; and (g) he has, immediately preceding the date of his application, either(i) resided in Nigeria for a continuous period of fifteen years; or (ii) resided in Nigeria continuously for a period of twelve months, and during the period of twenty years immediately preceding that period of twelve months has resided in Nigeria for periods amounting in the aggregate to not less than fifteen years. An application for naturalisation is made to the Ministry of the Interior, and the dossier is then reviewed by a range of different state agencies, including the State Security Service, the Immigration Service, the police, the governor of the state and chair of the local government area where the person is resident, and other agencies. Ultimately, the dossier is passed to the Federal Executive Council19 for review and recommendation and the final decision is made by the president. Naturalisation is not automatic for minor children of those whose applications are successful, and a separate application must be made at majority.20 3.4 Dual citizenship The one significant change made to the constitutional chapter on citizenship in 1999 was that section 28 removed the prohibition on dual citizenship for those who hold Nigerian and another citizenship from birth; however, a naturalised citizen cannot hold any other naturalised citizenship.21 Forfeiture of citizenship by a naturalised citizen who acquires or retains another naturalised citizenship is automatic, and acquisition of Nigerian citizenship by a person who is 19 The Federal Executive Council, also known as cabinet members, is a branch of the Executive arm of Government, comprising the President, the Vice-President, Secretary of the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service, and the Ministers. The Council members advices the Presidency and makes decision at executive level. See the Nigeria government website Accessed 14/05/2020 via https://nigeria.gov.ng/membersof-the-federal-executive-council/ 20 Confirmed by Nigerian National Immigration Service, Abuja, July 2014; see Bronwen Manby, ‘Migration, Nationality and Statelessness in West Africa’ (UNHCR and IOM, 2015), pp.39-40. 21 Section 26(1) of the 1979 Constitution provided that ‘subject to the other provisions of this section, a person shall forfeit forthwith his Nigerian citizenship if he acquires or retains the citizenship or nationality of a country other than Nigeria.’ Section 28 of the 1999 Constitution provides that ‘(1) subject to the other provisions of this section, a person shall forfeit forthwith his Nigerian citizenship if, not being a citizen of Nigeria by birth, he acquires or retains the citizenship or nationality of a country, other than Nigeria, of which he is not a citizen by birth. (2) Any registration of a person as a citizen of Nigeria or the grant of a certificate of naturalisation to a person who is a citizen of a country other than Nigeria at the time of such registration or grant shall, if he is not a citizen by birth of that other country, be conditional upon effective renunciation of the citizenship or nationality of that other country within a period of not more than five months from the date of such registration or grant.’ See also Solomon Oseghale Momoh, Statelessness and Right to Nationality: Avoiding the Uncertainties Under the Nigerian Constitution. p. 9. RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/12 - © 2020 Author(s) 9