The Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, extended her congratulations to Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung, a British Nigerian, on her appointment as the Lord Mayor of Leeds for the term 2024-2025, making her as the first elected African in the City of Leeds.
This congratulatory message was conveyed through the Director of Media and Public Relations, Abdur-Rahman Balogun.
It is noteworthy that Councillor Katung has made history as the first elected African Councillor in Leeds, currently serving as the Chair of Scrutiny Board for Infrastructure, Investment, and Inclusive Growth.
Brief profile of Councillor Katung
Abigail Wok Marshall Katung was born on December 7, 1973. She is a Nigerian-British politician and the wife of Sunday Marshall Katung, the senator representing the Kaduna South senatorial district, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
While raised in Nigeria, she pursued her education at the University of Leeds in the UK and, as of January 2024, assumed the roles of governor at Leeds City College and the Lord Mayor of Leeds.
Career
Councillor Katung has an impressive track record and past achievements which positively impacted humanity.
In 2008, she established the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA) in memory of David Oluwale, a Nigerian migrant to the UK who tragically drowned in River Aire in 1969, with two British police officers held responsible for his death. The prosecution of these officers in November 1971 marked the first and only successful prosecution against state officials for the death of a black person.
Katung, a co-chair of DOMA, won the polls in May 2019 to become the representative for the Little London and Woodhouse Ward after the Leeds City Council elections. In 2020, she served as a lead member for the BAME and was a BAME staff network member champion in Leeds.
In 2022, she co-chaired Leeds City Council’s official ‘Food Champion’ alongside Gareth Batty MBE FRSA, the CEO of FareShare Yorkshire. Katung was also a special guest at the Jordan Sinnott Memorial Award at St. Mary’s, Meston.
After an initial term, she successfully contested and won the Little London and Woodhouse election in May 2023. During the Easter of 2023, she attended the Church of All Souls, Leeds, alongside fellow councillors Kayleigh Brooks and Javaid Akhtar together with Mother Helen.
In January 2024, she assumed the position of Lord Mayor of Leeds under the Labour and Co-operative Party, succeeding Al Garthwaite. Her tenure is for the 2024/2025 term, making Katung the first elected African in the Leeds City Council.
Congratulations