- The 73rd Miss Universe 2024 is set to be held on November 16, featuring beauty queens from around the world
- Chidinma Adetahina, who recently won Miss Universe Nigeria, is one of the contestants in the prestigious pageant
- However, a South African group has released a petition seeking the cancellation of Chidinma’s entry over her alleged identity theft
Progressive Forces for South Africa has launched a petition to prevent Chidinma Adetshina from participating in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, which is scheduled for November 16 in Mexico.
This is coming months after the Nigerian-born South African stirred controversy over her nationality during the concluded Miss South Africa beauty pageant.
This eventually led to her withdrawal from the competition at the time, after which she honoured the call to participate in Miss Universe Nigeria and emerged as the winner to participate in the ongoing international Miss Universe.
Chidinma’s withdrawal also came after the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in South Africa alleged with preliminary evidence that the beauty model and her mother committed fraud and identity theft.
The petition filed by the South African group on October 30 beckoned on the organisers of the Miss Universe international contest to decline Chidinma’s participation over her mother’s identity theft saga.
“As Progressive Forces of South Africa, we are writing this letter on behalf of everyone who stands for justice to plead with you, Miss Universe Organization, to reconsider the contestant Miss Universe Nigeria and if possible, to cancel her entry.
Miss Universe is a well-known brand of class, integrity and fair competition. Miss Universe is known for granting a good platform to women from walks of life to make a positive contribution to society. We would hate to see the pageant losing its good image due to a contestant whose mother has been found guilty of stealing the identity of an innocent citizen.” the petition partly read.
Chidinma ignores South African group’s petition, shares new photos
Meanwhile, at the time of this report, Chidinma, who is currently representing Nigeria in the contest for Miss Universe 2024, has yet to make a public comment regarding the petition against her.
Instead, her post on November 1, shared via her official Instagram page, captured the beauty model in her day 4 outfit at the ongoing Miss Universe contest in Mexico.
“The Nigerian Barbie is ready to take on November with beauty, grace and unstoppable energy. Each day is a step closer to the crown and I'm feeling all the love and strength from my incredible supporters back home. Let's make this month unforgettable. Here's my look for day 4. Stay tuned.” she captioned.
Chidinma accepts Miss Universe Nigeria’s invitation following Miss South Africa saga
Earlier, TheRadar reported that Nigerian-born South African, Chidinma Adetshina, accepted the invitation of organisers of Miss Universe Nigeria to participate in the 2024 edition of the pageant.
Chidinma had recently withdrawn from the finals of the 2024 Miss South Africa competition after a controversial investigation report about her true nationality surfaced.
In a short video clip posted on August 14 by the Silverbird Group founder, Ben Murray-Bruce, she expressed her gratitude to the Miss Universe Nigeria Organisers.
