Kemi Badenoch has stood by her past comments about Nigeria, after the vice-president of the West African country accused her of denigrating it. The Conservative Party leader, who was born in the UK but mostly raised in Nigeria, has repeatedly described growing up in fear and insecurity in a country plagued by corruption.
On Monday, Nigerian Vice-President Kashim Shettima suggested Badenoch could “remove the Kemi from her name” if she was not proud of her “nation of origin”.
Asked about Shettima’s comments, Badenoch’s spokesman said she “stands by what she says” and “is not the PR for Nigeria”.
During a speech on migration in Nigerian capital Abuja, Shettima said his government was “proud” of Badenoch “in spite of her efforts at denigrating her nation of origin.”
It is unclear which comments Shettima was referring to, but Badenoch has frequently mentioned her Nigerian upbringing in speeches and interviews. Born Olukemi Adegoke in Wimbledon in 1980, she grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and in the United States where her physiology professor mother lectured.
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