Four Nigerians Win Keenly Contested UK Elections

Nigeria - Four Nigerians won seats to the revered British parliament, making it the first time such feat would be recorded.

Against all odds, David Cameron also won his re-election bid in one of the fiercest polls in British history.

Before Thursday’s keenly contested polls in Britain, not many within and outside it were familiar with Chuka Umunna, Helen Grant, Chi Onwurah and Kate Osamor. But by mid-day Friday, the four have almost become celebrities of sort after an elaborate media focus on them.

The four Nigerians won seats into the British parliament, making it the first time such would be happening in the highly conservative United Kingdom. While Umunna, a Labour Party politician who has served Streatham as Member of Parliament since 2010 and has enjoyed a meteoric political rise in recent years is a relatively known face outside Britain, the profile of the other three was largely unknown until Friday, a day after the keenly contested elections, even though Grant and Onwurah had been Members of Parliament over the last five years.


Profiles of Four Nigerians Running for British Parliamentary Seats

Four Nigerians will be gunning for seats at the British parliament. The election scheduled for 7th May 2015 will see the four Nigerians with three who are already members of parliament fighting for slots.

Chuka Umunna

 Chuka Harrison Umunna (born 17 October 1978) is a British Labour Party politician who has served Streatham as Member of Parliament(MP) since 2010. Umunna is the current Shadow Business Secretary since 2011.




Helen Grant

Born 28 September 1961, Helen Grant is a British Conservative Party politician and solicitor. She is the current Member of Parliament forMaidstone and The Weald in Kent and the current Minister for Sport, Tourism & Equalities. She was elected at the 2010 general election, replacing the constituency's previous incumbent, Ann Widdecombe, who had decided to step down as an MP. Grant was the first black woman to be selected to defend a Tory seat and her election made her the Conservatives' first female black MP.

Chi Onwurah

 Chi Onwurah (born 12 April 1965) is a British Labour Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle upon Tyne Central, replacing the previous Labour MP Jim Cousins, who decided to step down and left the seat. She is Newcastle's first black MP.



Kate Osamor

NIGERIAN-born National Health Service (NHS) manager Kate Osamor is the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for the Edmonton constituency in London after stiff contest with fellow diasporan Kate Anolue. Ms Osamor, who has worked for the NHS for 15 years, is a trade union activist, a women's charity trustee and a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee. She made funding the NHS, opposing its fragmentation and standing up to government cuts the centrepiece of her campaign.

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