Nigerian-born Khadijat Haliru wins councillorship election in Canada

Another Nigerian resident in Canada, Khadijah Haliru has emerged winner of the Ingersoll Town councillorship election in Oxford county, Ontario, Canada.

The chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NiDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, revealed this on her verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.

This comes a few hours after a Nigerian, Ayo Owodunni became the first black person to become a City Councillor in Kitchener, London Ontario, Canada.

Owodunni won the Municipal elections for Ward 5 in a keenly contested race for the office.

In a short video posted on her Facebook page, Haliru expressed gratitude to the people of Ingersoll Town for electing her.

“I just want to say congratulations to all the winners tonight. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to represent Ingersoll, and I look forward to doing this with heart and all the dedication and devotion into this duty that you deserve.

“So thank you, and yes we have a voice. We did it. We won,” she said.

Haliru, while campaigning on 104.7 Heart FM in July said she will shine a light on downtown businesses, engage youths and address homelessness if she becomes an Ingersoll Town Councillor this fall.

She is the CEO of K Business Group Inc and also the owner of Hanak Foods, K Body Blends, and K Coaching Academy.

“I feel like we just really have to open our hearts and minds to a different way of thinking so we can bring some change. I’m not saying anything about whether the current council is right or wrong, but having an additional perspective is fair,” Haliru said in the interview.

“Being really strategically located we have the opportunity to be a centre of attraction for tourists. Our downtown is suffering, so we need to bring more attention to our businesses and I have a few ideas on how we can engage youth more.”