Deputy Senate President of the Senate Ike Ekweremadu was at the weekend appointed an Honorary Mayor-President, City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America, USA.
A statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Uche Anichukwu, said the honour was conferred on Ekweremadu, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Office of the Mayor-President on the sideline of his maiden lectures as a Professor and Senior Mentoring Scholar, E-Governance and Strategic Government Studies, Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Social Sciences, Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“I paid a courtesy visit to the Office of the Mayor-President of Baton Rouge. I was warmly received and I had a heart-to-heart discussion with Veneeth Iyengar on governance, economy, among others.
“The Mayor, Sharon Broome, also graciously appointed me an Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge,” the statement quoted Ekweremadu’s post on his Facebook page, @IamEkweremadu.
According to the statement, Ekweremadu thanked the Mayor for giving Africans and Nigerians in particular the opportunities to excel in the City.
While reiterating his commitment to building the necessary local and international partnerships to make the world a better place, the deputy Senate President said: “I am in Baton Rouge to teach and interact with Fulbright Scholars, Exchange Scholars, and Graduate Students at the International Centre for Information and Nelson Mandela Institute of Research.
“I observed that a lot of Africans, especially Nigerians are benefitting from the university and the City of Baton Rouge. We have here distinguished Nigerians doing very well both in the academic world and other areas of human endeavor. I am impressed and thank you for availing them the numerous opportunities to excel.”
The statement said Senator Ekweremadu was earlier received by the President-Chancellor of the Southern University, Dr. Ray Belton; Vice Chancellor, Dr. James Ammons; Dean, Mandela School of Public Policy, Prof. Damien Ejigiri, and Professor Victor Mbarika.
It noted that Dr. Belton expressed gratitude to Prof. Ekweremadu for accepting to be part of the University, noting that the Senator’s wealth of experience acquired at the local government, state, national, and Africa regional levels would be highly beneficial to their scholars.
Ekweremadu was appointed a Professor by Southern University, Baton Rouge in February 2018. He had served as Local Government Council Chairman, Chief of Staff at Enugu State Government House and Secretary to Enugu State Government. He has been Senator since 2003 and presiding officer since 2007. He is also a former Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament,
