British-Nigerian Poet Becomes UK Councillor Under Labour Party

Ndukwe Onuoha, a British-Nigerian poet has been elected as a councillor in his ward.

Onuoha won the election on the platform of the Labour Party to represent the Mackworth and New Zealand ward in Derby City Council.

The Poet was nominated by his party in November 2022 and emerged as the only candidate of African descent to have won the election.

The Derby Council announced his victory via a tweet on Friday.

The council said on Twitter:

“MACKWORTH & NEW ZEALAND RESULTS
Ndukwe Onuoha (Labour), Gaurav Pandey (Conservatives), John Whitby (Labour) have been elected. Labour GAIN.”

The Derby council announced Onuoha was elected after polling 1,168 votes.

However, 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.

Checks revealed the law allows British or Commonwealth citizens, including Nigerians, to contest for councillor positions in the UK.