By Shakirudeen Bankole
As President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden square up in an unprecedented poll, nine Nigerians are among contenders vying for legislative positions in the Tuesday’s general elections in the United States.
They are contesting in the congressional elections, holding on Tuesday with all the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate up for grab.
Mr Oye Owolewa, a Nigerian, whose father hailed from Kwara State, and mother from Oyo state, is vying for non-voting seat in the House of Representatives to represent the District of Columbia (DC) under the Democratic Party.
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He holds Ph.D in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University, Boston.
Mr Yomi Faparusi, born in Ibadan, but hails from Ode-Ekiti in Ekiti State, is vying as an independent candidate, representing the state of Tennessee in the 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.
Mr Yinka Faleti, a Lagosian before migrating to the US, is contesting under the auspices of the Democratic Party, contesting for the office of Secretary of State.
Faleti is an American war veteran, serving between 1998 and 2004, in critical combat operations such as Operation Desert Spring and later as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, all in Kuwait.
He is a Bachelor’s degree holder, from the United States Military Academy, West Point, and a Juris Doctorate from the Washington University School of Law.
Mr Paul Akinjo from Ondo, is also on the ballot, contesting in the election to the California State Assembly under the Democratic Party to represent District 12.
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A Vice Mayor of Lathrop, California, Akinjo also served in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1982 to 1989.
Other Nigerians contesting in the elections, are Adewunmi Kuforiji, who is aspiring to represent District 34 in the state House of Representatives; Ms Esther Agbaje, seeking to represent District 59B in the Minnesota House of Representatives;
Ademiluyi, 39, is running on the Democratic Party’s ticket for Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
At the local government level, Ngozi Akubuike Akubuike, legal practitioner, is an independent candidate for judge of the Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 8.
Benjamin Osemenam who moved to the U.S. in 1982, is contesting for a seat in the Brooklyn Park City Council of Minnesota to represent East District.
