Hon Rukayat Shittu, 26, made history today when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared her the winner of the House of Assembly election in Kwara state’s Owode Onire Constituency.
Ms Shittu is presently the Kwara State House of Assembly’s youngest member.
She is a former Senate President of the Congress of NOUN Students (CONS) at Nigeria’s National Open University (NOUN).
Shittu, who ran under the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), is now the member elect for Owode Onire state constituency in Kwara State’s Asa local government area.
The journalist turned politician caused quite a stir in Kwara State when she proclaimed her intention to run for the APC Assembly ticket, and she eventually won the primary election against all odds.
The member-elect, who is the face of the gender parity movement started by Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq in Kwara State, eventually won the primary election despite legal challenges to her triumph, coming out ahead of the general election.
Shittu, who received 7,521 votes, defeated her People’s Democratic Party (PDP) opponent, who received 6,957 votes, becoming the officially proclaimed member-elect of Owode Onire state Constituency.