The chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, has claimed that the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Kemi Badenoch, has ignored efforts to reach her.

Mrs Dabiri-Erewa disclosed this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday in response to an inquiry about whether the federal government has tried to identify with Mrs Badenoch.

According to her, Nigeria won’t force the 44-year-old Nigerian-British politician, who spent part of her childhood in Lagos, or any other person with Nigerian heritage, to identify with their Nigerian roots.

The NiDCOM boss said, “It depends on if she identifies the Nigerianess in her. We have reached out to her once or twice without any response, so we don’t force people to accept to be Nigerian.”

Citing the case of the current Miss Universe Nigeria, Chidimma Adetishina, she said, “Until she got into a little problem with South Africa, she identified with Nigeria, came to Nigeria, and we hosted her. As long as that blood is in you, you’re a Nigerian.”

She added, “If you appreciate the Nigerianess in you and you want to work with us, we’re open to everybody, but we cannot force you to appreciate the Nigerianess in you.”

“So, it depends on Kemi to decide whether she appreciates the Nigerianess in her, whether she wants to work with Nigeria, but we cannot force anybody,” she insisted.

Mrs Badenoch was elected on Saturday to replace the party’s leader and immediate past UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, after winning 57 per cent of party members’ votes to defeat former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.

The election, which saw her emerge as the first Black leader of a UK-wide political party, followed Mr Sunak’s resignation from the position after the party failed in the July general election, which produced Keir Starmer of the Labour Party as the new Prime Minister.

Born in London before spending part of her childhood in Lagos, Mrs Badenoch migrated to the UK at the age of 16 to live with her mother’s friend due to the poor economic situation in Nigeria.