ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has expressed satisfaction with the ruling of the Court of Appeal, after it upheld his re-election as the senator representing Enugu West Senatorial District.
Reacting to the appellate tribunal’s judgment delivered in Enugu on on Monday, Ekweremadu revealed that he was never perturbed before the ruling.
According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uche Anichukwu, Ekweremadu claimed that the mandate handed to him by his people was “free, fair, credible, resounding, and therefore incontrovertible”.
Ekweremadu, who stated that he did not begrudge his challenger for trying his luck at the tribunals, reiterated that his major concern was to provide quality representation to his constituents and the nation in general.
“This is the beauty of democracy. My challenger exercised his democratic right. It is also democratic and reassuring that the appellate court has upheld the return made by the lower tribunal on my election.
“I thank my constituents and the good people of Enugu State for their prayers, goodwill, and immense faith they have continued to repose in me. Let me also reassure them that I will never let them down. I will continue to work for the common good and to justify every bit of confidence reposed in me,” he said.
It will be recalled that Ekweremadu polled 120,075 votes to re-emerge Senator for Enugu West Senatorial District in the 2015 general elections.
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However, although Ekweremadu’s closest rival of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Hon. (Mrs.) Luisa Achieze, who polled 2,314 had openly accepted the result and congratulated him, Mr. Philip Chukwudi Eze, had approached the three-man National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu to challenge the DSP’s victory on the grounds that he (Eze) was the rightful candidate of the APC.
The petition was thrown out for lack of merit by the tribunal headed by Justice Michael Edem.
It also awarded a total sum of N60,000 in favour of the Deputy Senate President.
Nevertheless, Eze approached the appellate tribunal, which also threw out his appeal on Monday.