Nigerian becomes first black African woman elected as mayor in Ireland
A Nigerian, Uruemu Adejinmi has emerged as the first migrant, first African and the first black female to be elected as Mayor in the Republic of Ireland.
With Ms Adejimi’s new election as Cathaoirleach of the Longford Municipal District, she also becomes the first female African mayor in the country, Irish Times reports.
Reacting to her victory, Ms Adejinmi who is the current councillor of Fianna Fail, stated in a statement that she was “deeply honoured” to assume the new position.”
“This is a historic day for Longford and I am delighted to share this moment with my family and friends.
“I look forward to working with my council colleagues, council exec and all stakeholders to continue the growth and development of our municipal area and county,” she added.
After migrating from Nigeria to Longford in 2003, Ms Adejinmi in 2016 joined Fianna Fail before assuming the post of local councillor in 2020.
She attributes her involvement in politics to her neighbour who asked her to join Fianna Fail saying, “If it wasn’t for my neighbour asking me to join his party, I wouldn’t have considered politics.”
Speaking to the Irish Times on the challenges faced by migrants who try to get involved in politics, Ms Adejinmi admonished political parties to “engage more actively” with migrants, noting that, “there is no shortage of talent in the migrant community but there is a shortage of community leaders from migrant backgrounds.”
The Masters of Business Administration holder from Athlone Institute of Technology identified jobs and housing as her key priorities.
“I am hoping to lobby for an influx of industry. Hopefully businesses will take a look at starting in Longford and that would help a lot of people who are leaving or commuting because of the lack of jobs,” she said.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
World
Iran arresting, detaining women over head covering: UN
The country’s morality police had announced stricter checks some weeks ago, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said.
World
Ukraine receives bodies of 140 fallen soldiers from Russia
It is not yet known whether and how many dead soldiers Russia has received from Ukraine.
Education
ASUU urges Sokoto govt to pay state varsity workers’ outstanding allowances
The ASUU-SSU also called on the Sokoto State government to settle the Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) owed to its members.
Lagos
Court remands man for defiling 12-year-old girl
Mr Adeosun said Mr Afeez sexually penetrated the vagina of the 12-year-old girl with his fingers.
States
Osun government urges residents to be on lookout for water pipe vandals
The water corporation’s general manager appealed to the state residents to be vigilant and monitor the activities of scavengers in their areas.
NationWide
Saudi donates 50 tonnes of dates to Nigerian government
Mr Alghamdi said the humanitarian donation reflected the decades-long brotherly bond between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.