A Nigerian poet based in Britain, Ndukwe Onuoha, has been elected a councillor in his ward.
Onuoha was elected on the platform of the Labour Party to represent the Mackworth and New Zealand ward in Derby City Council.
He was nominated by his party in November 2022, and becomes the only candidate of African descent to have emerged winner.
The Derby council announced the poet’s victory via a tweet on Friday.
“MACKWORTH & NEW ZEALAND RESULTS: Ndukwe Onuoha (Labour), Gaurav Pandey (Conservatives), John Whitby (Labour) have been elected. Labour GAIN,” the council tweeted.
The Derby council said Onuoha polled 1,168 votes to become councillor.
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.
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.