Ndukwe Onuoha, a Nigerian poet living in the UK and a member of the Labour Party, LP, was elected as a councilor for his ward.
In Derby City Council, Onuoha was chosen to represent the Mackworth and New Zealand ward.
The only candidate of African ancestry to win, the poet from the UK was chosen by his party in November 2022.
The poet’s success was revealed by the Derby council via a tweet on Friday.
The Derby council reports that Onuoha received 1,168 votes to win the council seat.
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.
