Mrs Funke Banjoko, who hails from Ekiti State, Nigeria has become the first black woman to be elected into the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo government, McMurray, Alberta Canada.
Wood Buffalo’s regional Municipality includes Fort McMurray and 10 communities that are smaller.
According to CBS News, Wood Buffalo voters elected what is considered to be the most diverse council in the history of the region.
Banjoko has resided in Fort McMurray for 10 years and she is the first Black woman to be elected to hold that position in the municipal election’s history.
She campaigned relentlessly for the position, and it was evident as she got the highest number of votes for the council with 4,788 among the six elected from 24 contestants in the ward.
She read History and graduated from the University of Jos in 1989. After she graduated, she enrolled for professional study in supply chain management at the Institute of Purchasing and Supply, Stamford University, United Kingdom.
While talking after she won the election, she said: “I represent a group of people that maybe they didn’t feel they were represented before.
“When we bring our different strengths, experiences, skills … if we work together then we will achieve so much.
“It’s only natural for me.”
