Journalist of Nigerian descent appointed white house bureau chief

Toluse Olorunnipa, a journalist of Nigerian descent, has been appointed as the next White House bureau chief for leading American media outfit, Washington Post.

He has become the first reporter of native African and Nigerian descent to cover the White House.

His appointment was contained in a statement signed by its National Editor, Matea Gold; Deputy National Editor, Philip Rucker; Senior Politics Editor, Dan Eggen; and White House Editor, Naftali Bendavid.

Having worked with three successive presidencies, in the 35-year-old’s new position, Tolu will lead an all-star team covering the Biden White House as it navigates economic and political headwinds and foreign conflicts.

“He will build on his distinguished work examining the ground-level impact of government policies and practices, bringing an accountability lens to his coverage of the administration and chronicling how the president’s decisions shape the lives of Americans in a diverse array of communities,” the statement said.

Before joining The Post, Tolu worked at Bloomberg for five years, reporting on politics and policy from Washington and Florida. He started his career at the Miami Herald, where he covered real estate, natural disasters and crime.

A native of Tallahassee, Tolu holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sociology from Stanford University.

He co-authored “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice”, the biography of George Floyd, an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2020.

Tolu is expected to succeed Ashley Parker as White House bureau chief.