- She also made it clear that the Nigerian government will not force Badenoch to identify with her Nigerian ancestry
The Nigerian government says the newly-elected UK Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, scoffed at its attempt to build a relationship with her.
The Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, disclosed this on Wednesday.
Speaking when she appeared on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Dabiri-Erewa claimed that her office reached out to Badenoch but received no response.
She also made it clear that the Nigerian government will not force Badenoch to identify with her Nigerian ancestry.
“It depends on whether she embraces her Nigerian identity. We reached out to her once or twice, but there was no response. We don’t force anyone to acknowledge being Nigerian,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
“We are open to working with anyone who sees themselves as Nigerian, but it’s not something we can force.”
Badenoch was born in London in 1980, but spent part of her childhood in Lagos and the US