TRENTON, New Jersey — Shirley Emehelu took the oath of office on Monday, November 9, becoming New Jersey's fifth lieutenant governor and its secretary of state — and the first immigrant ever to hold the lieutenant governor's job in the state. Governor Mikie Sherrill appointed Emehelu days after naming her as her choice for the post last week, a selection Awaaz Punjab reported at the time; on Monday the choice became official, as Emehelu was sworn in at the Statehouse in Trenton and took charge of the office left empty when Dale Caldwell resigned in September.

Chief Justice Stuart Rabner administered the oath. Emehelu's daughter Amara held the Bible, her husband Ikenna and her son Nnamdi stood beside her, and Governor Sherrill applauded as the oath was completed, according to the NJ State House News Service, which photographed the ceremony. With the swearing-in, New Jersey is led by two women at the same time for the first time in its history — a woman governor and a woman lieutenant governor holding the state's two highest executive offices together.

Why the seat was empty

The office had been vacant since September 25, when Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell resigned. An investigation commissioned by Governor Sherrill's office had found that Caldwell committed ethics violations, ROI-NJ reported, and the NJ State House News Service reported that a report detailed sexual misconduct and ethics violations; Caldwell denied the accusations but stepped down under pressure from Sherrill after about eight months in office. Both accounts are allegations and findings reported by those outlets, and Caldwell's denial stands on the record. Sherrill, who had hand-picked Caldwell during her campaign last year, was asked on Monday whether her vetting was more careful this time. 'It's always incredibly important to us that we vet people and that we run a government that is not only focused on the people we serve, but focused on accountability,' she said.

Emehelu was not the first person offered the job. Governor Sherrill first offered the post to Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson of Trenton, who chairs the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus, but Reynolds-Jackson withdrew her name from consideration on November 6, saying in a statement that she was 'deeply grateful to the governor for considering me' and that now was not the right time. Sherrill said she understood and respected the decision. The governor then turned to the official who had already been doing the job's second half: Emehelu had served as acting secretary of state since Caldwell's resignation.

The prosecutor the governor already knew

Emehelu, 48, is a former federal prosecutor who once worked alongside Sherrill herself in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey in Newark. Born in Nigeria, she immigrated to the United States at age 3, grew up in the US, and earned her bachelor's degree and her law degree at Yale University, according to Unheard Voices Magazine. She spent about nine years as an assistant U.S. attorney handling white-collar crime, public corruption and anti-money laundering cases, and served as chief of asset recovery and anti-money laundering, before working at the law firm Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi. She has never run for elected office.

Her state career began in 2022, when she joined the New Jersey Attorney General's Office as executive assistant attorney general — the office's third-highest-ranking post — overseeing more than 500 attorneys working on environmental protection, consumer protection and civil rights, during Governor Phil Murphy's second term. When Sherrill took office as governor in January, she named Emehelu state comptroller. After Caldwell resigned, Emehelu stepped in as acting secretary of state and ran New Jersey's election operations through the November 3 midterm elections — a vote held while ballots and polling places were under federal scrutiny. Sherrill praised her on Monday for safeguarding the vote, saying Emehelu 'ran toward the fight' rather than hiding from it, and cited that work in making the appointment.

No confirmation vote — and real power in the job

Emehelu did not need to be confirmed by the state Senate: New Jersey law gives the governor broad unilateral appointment power when the lieutenant governorship falls vacant, ROI-NJ reported. The job is more than ceremonial. Under New Jersey's constitution, the lieutenant governor must also hold a cabinet post — in Emehelu's case, secretary of state, the office that oversees the state's elections and its Business Action Center for companies. And whenever Governor Sherrill leaves the state — as she did frequently in October, campaigning for Democrats nationwide — the lieutenant governor serves as acting governor. Emehelu, a resident of Montclair like Sherrill, is also the fourth African-American person to serve as New Jersey's lieutenant governor, an office created by a constitutional amendment voters passed in 2005.

Business leaders welcomed the appointment. Michele Siekerka, president and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, called Emehelu's legal career 'very distinguished' and focused on public service, and said the association stood ready to work with her as secretary of state — the office that oversees the New Jersey Business Action Center. For New Jersey's large immigrant communities — including the Punjabi and wider South Asian communities centred on Edison, Iselin, Jersey City and the Route 1 corridor, for whom the secretary of state's office runs the elections they vote in and the business services many family firms use — the appointment puts an immigrant who arrived in America as a small child one heartbeat from the governorship of one of the most diverse states in the country. 'As a Black woman and Nigerian American, I am proud of what this appointment represents for our state, and especially for the communities that share my heritage,' Emehelu said. 'This is a milestone we can celebrate together.'

What happens next

Emehelu starts work immediately in both roles. She told the announcement press conference her priorities are the governor's: driving down costs and making life more affordable, taking care of children, and building a government rooted in accountability — and she promised a culture change in Trenton, saying solving the state's problems 'won't just require new policy' but 'a new culture in government.' As secretary of state she remains responsible for certifying and administering elections after the midterms she just ran; as lieutenant governor she will act as governor during Sherrill's out-of-state travel. No Senate vote and no further confirmation step stands between her and the full duties of the office.