This was revealed by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, during a chat with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to Aregbesola, the approval for the foreigners came after security clearance by the relevant authorities in the country.

He said: “This is the first set, by the end of this first quarter or latest by the middle of the year another set will be presented to council. We received 600 applications from several people, foreign nationals who have been residing in Nigeria but are desirous of being Nigerians.

“These applicants are from virtually every part of the world. Americans, North and South Korean, Australians, Europeans, Arabs, Asians, all over, even South Africans.

“Out of the 600 applicants, the Advisory Committee approved for the consideration of the council 280. Before the presentation, some agents of government scrutinized these applicants. The Agencies are the Department of State Security, the foreign affairs ministry, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the state of domicile of those individuals.

“The state will give us their record of relationship from the community to all the levels in the state to be sure that they are men and women of integrity and good character. So, it is all of these that the Advisory committee looked at to shortlist and recommend 280.”