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A former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, says he is not discouraged by his loss to Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who defeated him in the deputy senate election.
Ekweremadu, who was deputy senate president from 2007 to 2011; 2011-2015 and 2015 to 2019; said now that he s no longer in power, he will have time to focus on other things.
He said he ran for the office of the Deputy Senate president to make a statement.
Speaking with journalists after losing the contest, the Peoples Democratic Party stalwart said he only made the decision to contest a few hours before the inauguration of the Senate.
Omo-Agege polled 68 votes to defeat Ekweremadu who polled 37 votes.
Ekweremadu lamented that Omo-Agege, who was accused of snatching the Senate’s mace in 2018, could be rewarded with such a position.
He said, “We need to exonerate ourselves. It was not a contest to win or lose; I wanted to make a statement. For over 20 years, I have been very busy with politics and governance. So, I think I can have a rest and reflect on other things.
“I believe there must be a referendum. Look at what happened on a day I was presiding and the chamber was invaded. It is embarrassing that someone who led that operation will take a bow and endorsed and we all work home like it doesn’t matter.
“I wanted a situation where we could present a referendum in respect of what transpired.”
Ekweremadu said he thought the All Progressives Congress would produce a consensus candidate that we can all be proud of.