Meet the Nine Nigerians who Contested in the November 2020 United States Election
The United States General elections had not less than 9 Nigerian-Americans contest for several positions on the 3rd of November 2020. The candidates contested for different offices at the federal, state, and local levels, mostly on the platform of the Democratic Party.
The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) earlier disclosed that apart from the presidential election, governorship polls will hold in 11 states and two territories, in addition to other states and local elections.
At the federal level, Mr Oye Owolewa contested for a ‘shadow’ (non-voting) seat in the House of Representative. Oye Owolewa, who holds a PhD in Pharmacy from Northeastern University, Boston seeks to represent the District of Columbia (DC) under the Democratic Party. If elected into the House of Representatives, Oye Owolewa hopes to implement his agenda of fighting income inequality in the United States. Amazingly, he would be the first Nigerian congressman in the history of the United States.
Additionally, at the federal level, Mr Yomi Faparusi, a native of Ode-Ekiti in Ekiti State bided for an independent candidate to represent the state of Tennessee in the United States’ Senate. His educational background includes a doctorate in Medicine from the University of Ibadan, a PhD in Health from Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctorate from the Widener University School of Law, Delaware.
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Although not his first trial at the U.S Congress, Yomi hopes to lend a positive voice to all Nigerians in the U.S Senate and to inspire African-Americans, especially Nigerian descent to contest for public offices in the country.
Mr Yinka Faleti from Lagos Nigeria is the Democratic Party’s flagbearer in the election for the office of Secretary of States in Missouri, a Republican-controlled state. Based on research, Faleti served in the U.S Army as an active-duty officer from 1998 to 2004. He served in Kuwait, first under Operation Desert Spring and later as part Operation Enduring Freedom. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point and a Juris Doctorate from the Washington University School of Law.
At the state level, Mr Paul Akinjo contested for the election to the California State Assembly under the Democratic Party to represent District 12. He formerly served as the Vice Mayor of Lathrop, California, and in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1982 to 1989. His agenda includes providing housing, enabling immigration and transportation.
Also in Delaware, a small Mid-Atlantic state in the U.S, Adewunmi Kuforiji contested to represent District 34 in the state House of Representatives. Adewunmi secured the Democratic Party’s ticket in September, after defeating his opponent, Robert Haynes, at the primary. His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Delaware State University. He formerly vied for the same position in the 2018 mid-elections but lost to Lyndon Yearick of the Republican Party, whom he contested against on Tuesday.
Also at the state level, Ms Esther Agbaje contested to represent District 59B in the Minnesota House of Representatives on the platform of the Minnesota Democratic–farmer-labour Party, an affiliate of the U.S Democratic Party. She is the daughter of an Episcopal priest and a librarian, both Nigerian immigrants. Esther Agbaje defeated longtime state Representative Raymond Dehn in the party’s primary which held in August, making her one of the four progressive greenhorns who defeated established Democratic legislators in the primary elections. Esther Agbaje has earned a law degree from Harvard University, a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and has served in the U.S. Department of State. If elected, she intends to bring a fresh perspective and new innovative ideas to the U.S government.
On the local government level, April Ademiluyi, Ngozi Akubuike and Benjamin Osemenam contested for different positions in Minnesota.
April Ademiluyi contested on the Democratic Party’s ticket for Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court in Prince George’s County, Maryland, while Ngozi Akubuike, a legal practitioner, is an independent candidate for judge of the Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 8.
Akubuike is a graduate of law in Nigeria and worked in the banking sector before moving to the U.S, where she further graduated from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law. She has worked as a Legal Manager for the state of Minnesota.
Benjamin Osemenam, who relocated to the U.S. since 1982 vied for a seat in the Brooklyn Park City Council of Minnesota to represent East District.
He works as an engineer at the Minnesota Department of Transportation and contested on the platform of National Party. He is the former president of the Association of Nigerian Engineers in Minnesota.