Nigerian American Oye Owolewa who was recently elected as a shadow United States Representative has told the BBC that he would push for the elevation of the District of Columbia to statehood. The 30-year-old is the first Nigerian-American congressman in the country’s history but he is confident he would not be the last.

He has also vowed to give voice to members of this constituency by lobbying for his constituency to have a vote in congress. Presently, he would have to act as an observer in congress as shadow members of the hose have no voting rights.