Vice President Kashim Shettima has tackled Kemi Badenoch, the newly elected leader of the UK Conservative Party, for making disparaging remarks about Nigeria.

Shettima spoke on Monday at the 10th Annual Migration Dialogue held at the State House in Abuja.

The Vice President expressed both pride in Badenoch’s achievements and disappointment in her comments about her country of origin.

He stated, “Kemi Badenoch, leader of the British Conservative Party — we are proud of her despite her efforts to denigrate her nation of origin.

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“She is entitled to her opinions, even her right to remove ‘Kemi’ from her name, but that does not negate the fact that Nigeria is the greatest Black nation on earth. One in every three or four Black people is a Nigerian, and by 2050, Nigeria will be the third most populous nation on earth, alongside the United States.”

The Vice President also underscored the vital contributions of migrants to society and economic growth.

He reaffirmed the Nigerian government’s commitment to safeguarding migrants’ rights while honouring their legacies and contributions to national development.

Prior to being elected leader of the UK Conservative Party, the 44-year-old British Nigerian, criticized Nigeria, saying she doesn’t want Britain to become like the place she ran away from

Badenoch was born in Wimbledon, but spent her childhood in Nigeria before returning to the UK as a teenager.

“I will always be grateful for being lucky enough to be born here.

“It was very much fate, and I would do anything for this country – I would go to war for this country, I would fight for this country. I would die for this country.

“This is my country. I love it the way it is. I don’t want it to become like the place I ran away from. I want it to get better and better, not just for me, but for the next generation,” she said in an interview with Mail Online.

Earlier, she had also claimed that her childhood in Nigeria was filled with tales of horror, with screams of neighbors every night being attacked, leading to fears whether their apartment could be the next.