Nigerian-American Oye Owolewa re-elected to US congress
Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian-American Democrat, has been re-elected as the shadow representative for the District of Columbia (DC).
Owolewa, a PhD graduate from Northeastern University in Boston, made history in November 2020 when he became the first Nigerian-American elected to congress.
He secured 164,026 votes, or 82.84 percent of the total votes cast in DC.
His role, while not officially recognised by the US government as a full member of congress, is to advocate for the district’s interests, particularly its bid for statehood.
On Thursday, Owolewa expressed his gratitude to DC voters via a post on X, thanking them for their continued support.
“Thank you DC again for giving me chance to serve. I also want to thank the organizations that have supported, partnered with and endorsed me,” he wrote.
While shadow representatives like Owolewa do not have voting power in the US house of representatives, they play a key role in pushing for recognition and state-level advocacy for DC residents, who are otherwise disenfranchised at the federal level.
He was born in Boston to a father from Omu Aran, in kwara state and a mother from Ilesa, in Osun State.
Owolewa family is in Igangu, Omu Aran, headquarters of Irepodun local government area of Kwara State
He was raised in Newton, Massachusetts and nearby Boston, where he attended Boston Latin School and graduated in 2008.
In 2014, he earned a doctorate in pharmacy from Northeastern University and moved to Washington to practice pharmacy.
In an acceptance message on his X handle after his victory, Owolewa wrote, “Almost 6 years to the date, I ran in my first election.
“On Nov 6, 2018, I ran for ANC Commissioner where I won by a single vote. Since then, I’ve learned to take nothing for granted and earn it every single day.
6 years, we’re still here. Working. Onwards to DC Statehood.”
Comments
Post a Comment