As Nigerians continue to demonstrate their administrative and political prowess globally, Nigerian-British politician Mrs. Abigail Marshall Katung has made history by becoming the first African Lord Mayor of Leeds, UK. She was officially sworn in at a recent council meeting.
Mrs. Marshall Katung succeeds Al Garthwaite as the city’s 130th Lord Mayor and is the first person of African descent to hold the position. She is married to Senator Sunday Marshall Katung, who represents the Kaduna South Senatorial District.
“Since arriving in Leeds in 2000, the city quickly became my cherished second home,” Mrs. Marshall Katung remarked. An athletics coach, she also became the Governor of Leeds City College in January 2024. Her appointment as Lord Mayor marks her as the first elected councilor of African origin in Leeds and the second black person to hold the title, following Eileen Taylor.
Speaking on her historic achievement, Mrs. Marshall Katung highlighted the significance of her role for foreign students in the UK, celebrated widely on the African continent.
“It was not just the city where I lived, studied, and worked; it’s where I chose to raise my children and become a public servant. My appointment as Lord Mayor has been widely celebrated in the city’s African community and is a shining example of the enormous contribution international students make to UK society,” she said.
She pledged her commitment to ensuring all voices in the city are heard and every success recognized and celebrated.
“As Lord Mayor of Leeds, I am committed to working tirelessly to ensure voices are heard from all areas of the city and every triumph is recognized and celebrated,” she added.
Biography Highlights
Abigail Wok Marshall Katung was born on December 7, 1975. She moved to the UK to study at the University of Leeds. In 2008, she founded the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA) in memory of David Oluwale, a Nigerian migrant who drowned in 1969.
She was elected as the Little London and Woodhouse Ward representative in May 2019 and became a lead member for the BAME and a BAME staff network member champion in Leeds as of 2020. In 2022, she co-chaired Leeds City Council’s official ‘Food Champion.’ She was elected as the next Lord Mayor of Leeds under the Labour and Co-operative Party in January 2024.
Mrs. Katung is married to Nigerian lawyer and lawmaker, Sunday Marshall Katung. The couple has two 19-year-old twin sons, whom she chose to raise in Leeds.
