Nigerian born ‘Kaduna Gal’, ABIGAIL MARSHALL KATUNG is First African appointed Lord Mayor of Leeds in United Kingdom
*Relocated to Britain to study politics in Leeds University 24 years ago, to don ceremonial chain in May
*Wife to a serving Senator vow to continue fighting for equality and social justice
*48-year-old was a councillor from the Labour and Co-operative Party
*She will take over from Coun Al Garthwaite, the Labour councillor for Headingley and Hyde Park ward, who was elected the Lord Mayor of Leeds last year
*“I am deeply honoured and humbled to be chosen to serve as the next Lord Mayor of Leeds for the 2024/25 term. Our city is a shining example of compassion, resilience, and unity, and it’s with great pride that my family and I look forward to undertaking the responsibility to serve you. My 19-year-old twin sons have already started calling me Lord Mother”-ABIGAIL
*“We look forward to continuing our work together to provide skills and opportunities for people in the region”-The COLLEGE
*BY GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICA Senior Investigative Editor
SHE IS A KADUNA GIRL, A GREAT NIGERIAN, who migrated to Britain to pursue her educational career at Leeds University. ABIGAIL MARSHAL KATUNG, after her studies became the councillor from the Labour and Co-operative Party. And now elected as the Lord Mayor of Leeds in the United Kingdom.
Abigail grew up in Nigeria before moving to the UK to pursue her studies at Leeds University. It was then that she discovered her love of the city, which inspired a move into local government.
The 48-year-old said she was “deeply honoured and humbled” to accept the top job, which comes after five years of service at Leeds City Council.
She will make history when she dons the ceremonial chain in May, after being unanimously chosen by colleagues for the role.
Coun Marshall-Katung was born in Nigeria and moved to Leeds to study politics in 2000.
She vowed to “continue the fight for equality and social justice” as Lord Mayor, which she started when she was elected to represent the Little London and Woodhouse ward in 2019.
“I’m still in awe,” she told the Yorkshire Evening Post. “I was really thrilled that it was a unanimous decision.”
The mum-of-two joked that her 19-year-old twin sons have already started calling her “Lord Mother”.
Her husband Sunday Marshall-Katung is also a politician, serving as a senator in Nigeria.
Coun Marshall-Katung will take over from Coun Al Garthwaite, the Labour councillor for Headingley and Hyde Park ward, who was elected the Lord Mayor of Leeds last year.
She follows in the footsteps of Coun Eileen Taylor, who became the first black woman to hold the Lord Mayor title in 2019.
Coun Marshall-Katung spoke about the significance of being the city’s first Lord Mayor of African descent.
“Sometimes you do these things and you don’t even know you’re the first person to do it,” she said. “But at the end of the day, representation matters. You always want to be round the table where the decisions are being made. I want to make the community’s voice heard.”
Reacting to the new political position, Marshall wrote on her X page, “I am deeply honoured and humbled to be chosen to serve as the next Lord Mayor of Leeds for the 2024/25 term.
“Our city is a shining example of compassion, resilience, and unity, and it’s with great pride that my family and I look forward to undertaking the responsibility to serve you.
The college said, “We look forward to continuing our work together to provide skills and opportunities for people in the region.”
Marshall’s parents hail from Kaduna State. The Lord Mayor of Leeds is a ceremonial post held by a member of Leeds City Council, elected annually by the council.
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