The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has said that attempts have been made to remove him as Deputy Senate President.
Ekweremadu made the claim when the Archbishop of Enugu Province, Anglican Communion, The Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma, led a delegation of clerics from the Enugu Diocese of the Church on a solidarity visit to his Enugu residence on Sunday evening.
Ekweremadu’s statement during the visit is contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu, in Abuja on Monday.
The statement quoted the Deputy Senate President as saying, “When people say they are not sure there is God, I say, ‘Come, let me tell you my story; when I finish my story, you will know whether there is God or not.’ My story is one of those that establish actually that there is God. So, what you are seeing now will also pass because there is no battle that God cannot fight for me.
“There have been several attempts to remove me as the Deputy President of the Senate, but, I am not worried because it is God that gives power and it is only Him that can take it.”
Ekweremadu pointed out that he had never been in a position to manage public finances or award contracts all through his political career.
“I have been a town union president, chairman of a local government, chief of staff and secretary to the state government, senator since 2003, vice-chairman and chairman of several committees, deputy president of the Senate since 2007 and I have been deputy speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament before I became the speaker.
“Today, I am a member of the Global Parliament for Tolerance and Peace. In all of these, I have never managed government resources or finances or being in a position to give contracts or receive contracts,” he said.
Ekweremadu also recalled instances where he turned down tasks relating to funds while holding positions.
He said, “When I was a local government chairman, I allowed the secretary of the council to run the affairs when it comes to giving contracts. When I was the secretary to the Enugu State Government, I refused to be part of the tenders board because of things like these.
“When I became the deputy president of the Senate in 2007, there was something they used to call the Body of Principal Officers that awarded contracts; I told the President of the Senate that we had to stop it and let the National Assembly Management deal with contracts, and that if it was to continue, I was not going to part of it. He saw my point and agreed with me.
“All the oil and election probes they have done in Nigeria, nobody can mention my name. The money they pay me for my services has always been enough for me. If you have any proof that I stole government money, I challenge you to come out and say it. I have never ever even been in a position to do that.”
Ekweremadu said he had no personal quarrel with anyone, wondering why the desperation to annihilate him politically.
