Report on Citizenship Law: Nigeria appropriate method to grant or recognise Nigerian nationality in such situation.70 As at the time of writing this report, the committee is yet to submit its recommendation, and the implication is that the procedure of acquiring citizenship by confirmation by offspring of naturalised Nigerians remains suspended. 5.4 Gender discrimination Another call for citizenship law reform in Nigeria relates to the inability of Nigerian women to pass their citizenship to their foreign spouses on the same footing as their male counterparts. As noted above, by virtue of Section 26(b) of the Constitution, only women can register as Nigerian citizen on grounds of marriage; while foreign men married to Nigerian women will have to wait for at least 15 years and satisfy other conditions before they qualify to apply for naturalisation.71 Nigeria is a party to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which prohibits discrimination in transmission of nationality to spouses and children.72 In a report to the CEDAW Committee in 2008, the Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition emphasised the need for the review of Nigerian citizenship law to give women citizens the same rights as Nigerian men: The Nigerian Constitution in Section 26 allows a foreign woman who is married to a Nigerian man to automatically become a Nigerian whereas; this automatic citizenship does not apply in the case of a Nigerian woman married to a non-Nigerian man. This is a serious denial of the rights of Nigerian women who marry foreigners to have their spouses become Nigerian by the virtue of marriage: A right which every Nigerian man enjoys. It is really disheartening that the Constitution of Nigeria harbours and promotes discrimination against women in nationality issues. This provision needs to be reviewed for gender balance and equality.73 UNHCR and other national statelessness prevention advocates have in many occasions advocated with the government for law reforms in this regard to enable Nigeria to comply with its obligations under CEDAW.74 Women’s groups participated activity in the Citizens’ Forum for Constitutional Reform, advocating for gender equality in citizenship rights as in other matters.75 The National Conference of 2014 also recommended the removal of gender discrimination in transmission of citizenship by marriage.76 70 Informal discussion with a senior member of the Ministry of Interior, Citizenship and Business (C&B) on the plight of offspring of naturalised Nigerians 71 See 1999 Constitution, Section 27 72 CEDAW, Articles 1, 2, and 9. 73 Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition Report Submitted to the 41st Session of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women June 30 – July 18, 2008. Accessed 14/05/2020 via https://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/Nigeria-report.pdf. 74 See submission by the UNHCR for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Compilation Report – Universal Periodic Review: NIGERIA. 2013, Accessed 01/04/2020 via https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/5142f5912.pdf. See also 75 Charmaine Pereira, ‘Understanding Women’s Experiences of Citizenship In Nigeria: From Advocacy To Research’, in Gender, Economies and Entitlements in Africa (Dakar: CODESRIA, 2004), pp. 87-110. Accessed 14/05/2020 via https://www.codesria.org/IMG/pdf/PEREIRA-1.pdf. See also Position of the CFCR on the Review of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Citizens’ Forum for Constitutional Reform 2001 76 ‘The National Conference: Final Draft Conference Report’ (Government of Nigeria 2014), section 5.2.2. 20 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/12- © 2020 Author(s)