A Nigerian poet, Ndukwe Onuoha of the Labour Party, LP, has been elected a councillor of Mackworth and New Zealand ward in Derby City Council, United Kingdom.
Onuoha was nominated by his party in November 2022, and was the only candidate of African descent to have emerged winner.
The Derby Council announced the Onuoha’s victory via a tweet on Friday, stating that the Nigerian poet polled 1,168 votes to become councillor.
Hey Mackworth and New Zealand, we did it! pic.twitter.com/5mefKCcoML
— Ndụkwe Ọnụọha (@nd_onuoha) May 5, 2023
The council tweeted, “MACKWORTH & NEW ZEALAND RESULTS Ndukwe Onuoha (Labour), Gaurav Pandey (Conservatives), John Whitby (Labour) have been elected. Labour GAIN,”
“MACKWORTH & NEW ZEALAND RESULTS 
Ndukwe Onuoha (Labour), Gaurav Pandey (Conservatives), John Whitby (Labour) have been elected. Labour GAIN.#LocalElection2023 — Derby City Council (@DerbyCC) May 5, 2023.”
Nwando Umeh, another Nigerian and a Labour Party candidate, contested as one of the representatives of the Mackworth and New Zealand ward, but lost after she polled 1,084 votes, the council said.
Recall that the law provides that a British or a citizen of the commonwealth – to which Nigeria belongs, having been colonised by the British – is eligible to contest for a councillor position in the UK.
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