Pharmacist Oye Owolewa becomes first ever Nigerian member of the House of Representatives

KWARA Stare-born pharmacist Oye Owolewa has become the first Nigerian to elected to the US House of Representatives after he romped home in the Washington District of Columbia (DC) securing the seat for Joe Biden's Democratic party.

Early this morning, Mr Owolewa emerged as the winner with 82.65% of the vote after securing an unassailable lead with 135,234 votes compared with the 15,541 votes secured by his Republican opponent Joyce Robinson-Paul. Mr Owolewa, whose father is from Kwara State and mother is from Oyo, is aiming for a shadow, non-voting, seat in the House of Representatives.

A PhD holder in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University, Boston, Mr Owolewa, 30, is now the first Nigerian congressman in the history of US politics. In 2018, Mr Owolewa, who has  been an advocate for DC statehood, was elected commissioner of his neighbourhood in Southeast DC.

He launched TaxFreeDC as a movement to combat DC's taxation without representation. TaxFreeDC declares that until DC statehood is achieved, its tax revenue shall no longer go to the federal government.