YouTuber Niko Omilana explains why him running for London Mayor is more than a meme

Popular YouTuber Niko Omilana is running for London Mayor, hoping to secure as many votes as possible on May 6. This is the first year that not only one, but two YouTubers have got their hats in the ring. 

Niko Omilana has more than 3.5 million subscribers on YouTube and is well known for his comedic skits and prank videos. Notably, he snuck into the Logan Paul vs KSI boxing match in 2018 and even their rematch, but he was banned from any future matches by DAZN and Matchroom boxing.

Since he’s known for not taking anything too seriously, it came as a surprise to many that he is genuinely running for Mayor of London, as well as fellow YouTuber Max Fosh.

Incredibly, Niko currently has a 5% backing in the polls and is the second choice for voters between ages 18 to 24, just beaten by Sadiq Khan. How did a YouTuber find his way into politics? Niko spoke to Dexerto about his campaign and his plans for the future.

Instagram: Niko Omilana

Niko’s full manifesto was revealed on April 27.

Niko claims he wasn’t taken seriously at all at first by the UK media, and in one video, he documented his push to get an interview with the BBC and to be treated equally to the other candidates.

Eventually, he managed to secure a spot in front of BBC cameras but was still left out of televised debates. “I think it’s outrageous how ITV haven’t interviewed me,” he said, “they’re interviewing people polling only 1% higher than me.”

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Niko maintains that he’s working hard to get his voice heard, attempting to brush off his reputation as a YouTube comedian: “I’m not a prankster I’m a politician. If I was a YouTube prankster then maybe I’d have pranks or something set up, but no. It’s just polished politician-type stuff… We’re taking this campaign extremely seriously.”

Despite apparent erasure from mainstream media, Niko is determined to gather up big-name supporters. Naturally, his co-creators Sharkey, Chunkz, and AJ Shabeel and even the Sidemen are all backing him as he aims to “bring it home for YouTube.”

Niko claims to have the support of Kanye West, Barack Obama, and even the late Tupac and Mohammad Ali, adding “they have all told me personally,” although this could not be confirmed. He even tweeted Dua Lipa who publicly expressed her support for Sadiq Khan, and managed to ratio her 90k likes over 23k likes. “I’m sure she’s nursing her wounds,” he said.

As for his popularity, he said, “I did expect it. I believe that there isn’t a greater leader in this nation than me,” before adding that losing “is a completely unrealistic scenario which I haven’t given much thought to, because it’s impossible.”

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The 23-year-old believes this is partly down to his ability to represent young people as a young YouTuber who is making noise, stating “young people need to be listened to,” while in turn encouraging as many young people to register to vote as possible.

What are Niko Omilana’s policies?

Aside from that core message, the YouTuber laid out his other policies in a manifesto released on Twitter at 4:20 pm on April 27. It includes points such as “Boris Johnson will be forced to shush,” “All racists will have their teeth removed,” and “Raise the minimum wage by 6.9%.”

He demonstrated one of his points by driving a London bus turned “Five-star restaurant” around the city which he calls “Stop and Serve,” something he wants to introduce as Mayor which he says will include free school meals.

Even if he does fail to become Mayor of London this time around, Niko seems determined as ever, stating that he will be back again to run in four years’ time. One thing is for certain — people are taking notice.

You can find all the other candidates for the London Mayoral elections on the London Elects website.