THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority (PNGICA) are racing to find loopholes in the Citizenship Act to award PNG Citizenship to the wife of Governor General Sir Bob Dadae.
The Governor General’s wife Lady Epeline Tufi Dadae currently holds a Tongan passport and has been in the country for less than two years after their marriage.
Yesterday (Monday), the Government House has requested the two organizations to process Citizenship for Lady Dadae however, The PNG Bulletin is reliably informed the PNG Citizenship Act, the Passport Act and other laws governing foreigners to qualify for our country’s citizenship does not qualify her in anyway.
The PNG Bulletin is also aware that the lawyers from the Foreign Affairs Department were thoroughly checking on other Acts like the Humanity and Privileges Act whether or not one of them could qualify her for citizenship.
On the part of Immigration, there was no way Lady Dadae will qualify to be a citizen of Papua New Guinea because the PNGICA Acts were straight forward and that for a foreigner to qualify, you must have lived in the country for over eight years.
Senior officers (named) from the Foreign Affairs said political influences seemed to bend many laws in these two very important organizations in the country, yet the employees continue to be blamed for all the problems associated to these departments’ core functions.
They claimed that the proper process should be by making submissions through the Citizenship Board for deliberation as the starting point before it reaches the Foreign Affairs Minister for his endorsement and not bypassing processes.
Both the Minister for Immigration and Border Security Wesley Nukundj and Minister for Foreign Affairs Soroi Eoe could not be reached for comments.