No fewer than nine Nigerian Americans are on the ballot in Tuesday’s general elections in the United States, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Running mostly on the platform of the Democratic Party, the candidates are bidding for different offices at the federal, state and local levels.
NAN reports that besides the presidential election, governorship polls are holding in 11 states and two territories, in addition to other state and local elections.
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Congressional elections are also holding on Tuesday with all the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate up for grabs.
At the federal level, Mr Oye Owolewa, whose father is from Kwara and mother from Oyo, is aiming for a ‘shadow’ (non-voting) seat in the House of Representatives.
Owolewa, a Ph.D holder in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University, Boston, is seeking to represent the District of Columbia (DC) under the Democratic Party.
If elected, the 30-year-old, whose agenda include fighting income inequality in the U.S., would be the first Nigerian congressman in the country’s history.
Also at the federal level, Mr Yomi Faparusi, an Ibadan-born native of Ode-Ekiti in Ekiti State, is vying as an independent candidate to represent the state of Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.
Faparusi holds a doctorate in Medicine from the University of Ibadan, a Ph.D. in Health from Johns Hopkins University, and Juris Doctorate from the Widener University School of Law, Delaware.
This is not his first shot at the U.S. Congress. In 2014 and 2016, he vied for the Republican Party’s ticket to the House of Representatives, but lost in both occasions
Faparusi’s priorities include being a positive voice for all Nigerians in the U.S. Senate, and inspiring Americans of African or Nigerian descent to seek public office in the country.
In Missouri, a Republican controlled state, Mr Yinka Faleti from Lagos is the Democratic Party flagbearer in the election for the office of Secretary of State.
According to Wikipedia, Faleti was 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.
The 44-year-old father of four holds a Bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point, and a Juris Doctorate from the Washington University School of Law.
His goals as a Secretary of State include protection of the “right to vote for Missouri families”, and ensuring elected officials hear the people’s voice.
Also at the state level, Mr Paul Akinjo from Ondo, is running for election to the California State Assembly under the Democratic Party to represent District 12.
Akinjo once served as Vice Mayor of Lathrop, California, and in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1982 to 1989. His priorities include housing, immigration and transportation.
