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.
Owolewa has consistently championed the cause of DC
statehood, which has become a central focus of his work.
The re-election took place on November 5, the same day as
the US presidential election.
In that election, former President Donald Trump defeated
Vice-President Kamala Harris, securing over 270 electoral votes to win a second
term.
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