As vote counting continues in the US elections that have seen the largest voters turnout in the country’s history, Nigerians have something positive from the election to take home after Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American, made history as the first Nigerian to be elected into the Congress of the United States. Oye Owolewa, 31, was declared the winner of the shadow election in America’s District of Columbia (DC) on Wednesday, November 4, 2020. A shadow representative in the District of Columbia is recognized as equivalent to a US Representative though the government of the United States does not recognize a Shadow Representative as an actual member of the country’s House of Representatives.
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An overjoyed Owolewa took to his Instagram page to celebrate victory, vowing to fight for DC statehood and represent her values in the law-making process.
Good morning. Looks like WE DID IT!!! I want to thank everyone, from family and close friends to DC residents. Because of your contributions and sacrifices, I stand before you as America’s first Nigerian American congressman. In this role, I’m going to fight for DC statehood and bring our values to the lawmaking process. While today is day for some celebration, the hard work also follows. Again, thanks so much for everything. I wouldn’t be here without yall. With love and gratitude, Oye, congressman-elect
Oye Owolewa
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Nigerian-born Oye Owolewa, hails from Kwara State. He holds a doctor of philosophy degree (PhD) in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University, Boston. Owolewa who formed part of a list of nine Nigerian-Americans who vied for seats in the 2020 US Elections, contested under the platform of the Democratic Party. On his road to history, Owolewa scored a vote total of 164,026 votes which represents 82.84% of votes cast to beat his opponents, Joyce Robinson-Paul and Sohaer Syed.
Sources
Sahara Reporters
The Cable NG
Nairametrics
Featured image source: Nations Newspaper
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