Several dignitaries from Nigeria on Thursday attended the inauguration of Abigail Katung, wife of the senator representing Kaduna South Senatorial District Sunday Katung, as lord mayor of the City of Leeds, United Kingdom.
Among those present were the bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese Matthew Kukah, Senators Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Ifeanyi Ubah, Aminu Tambuwal and others.
Akpoti-Uduaghan’s husband Emmanuel Uduaghan was also present.
Katung is the city’s 130th lord mayor and the first person of African descent to hold the position. She became the first African to become a ward member of Leeds City Council when in 2019, she was elected to represent the Little London and Woodhouse ward in the city centre.
Katung will be supported throughout her tenure as lord mayor by her husband who is now lord mayor consort.
“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. 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 recognised and celebrated,” she said.
Katung was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, and arrived in the UK to study at the University of Leeds as a postgraduate student in the politics and international studies department in 2000.
