Nigerian-American, Oye Owolewa, has been elected as a shadow
member of the United States House of Representatives from the District of
Columbia.
According to election results on the website of the District
of Columbia Board of Elections on Wednesday morning, Owolewa polled 81.59% of
the votes, which represents 164,026 votes against Joyce Robinson-Paul, who
scored 18,600 votes, and Sohaer Syed with 15,372 votes.
Owolewa, whose father is from Kwara State and mother is from
Oyo, was elected on the platform of the Democratic Party in the election.
Congressional elections held Tuesday with all the 435 seats
in the US House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate up
for grabs.
The PhD holder in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University,
Boston, is one of the nine Nigerian-Americans on the ballot in Tuesday’s
general elections in the United States.
The campaign website of the 30-year-old reads, “In 2018, he
was elected commissioner of his neighbourhood in SouthEast DC. Lastly, Oye has
been an advocate for DC statehood, leading to his run to be your next
representative.
“He launched TaxFreeDC as a movement to combat DC’s taxation
without representation. TaxFreeDC declares that until DC statehood is achieved,
DC’s tax revenue shall no longer go to the federal government. Oye believes our
money belongs here for DC priorities instead of going to a government that
fails to recognise us.”
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Owolewa wrote, “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 the day for some
celebration, the hard work also follows.
“Again, thanks so much for everything. I wouldn’t be here
without yall.”
Chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike
Dabiri-Erewa, congratulated Owolewa in a statement on Wednesday.
“This goes to show that with dedication, hard work,
resilience and prayer, one can achieve just about anything,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
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