Ike Ekweremadu is a Nigerian senator who has served since May 2003. He is a politician, public speaker, federalist, attorney, philanthropist, and author. On May 12, 1962, he was born. He is a member of the People’s Democratic Party and has served as the deputy president of the Nigerian Senate three times in a row. Ekweremadu and his wife were charged on June 23, 2022, with planning a 21-year admission into the UK in order to remove his organs.
Early Life and Education
Ike Ekweremadu was born on May 12, 1962, in Amachara Mpu, Aninri Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria. He is also from Enugu State. His father was the late Igwe Mathias Ekweremadu, the Okwaa Anekeoji 1 of Mpu in Enugu State’s Aninri Local Government Area, and he was born into His Royal Highness’ royal family.
He completed his secondary education at the Boys Secondary School in Umueze Awkunanaw, where he earned a Grade 1 in the West African School Certificate, and St. Dominic’s Secondary School in Ugiri, Imo State, before continuing on to the University of Nigeria for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in law. He also holds a doctorate in philosophy in law from the University of Abuja in Nigeria.
Political Career
Ike Ekweremadu’s political career began at the local level when he was Chairman of the Mpu Town Union in Enugu State. Following that, he was appointed to lead the Aninri Local Government Council. In 1997, he was named Best Council Chairman of the Year for his outstanding work. Ekweremadu was appointed Chief of Staff at the Enugu State Government House and later Secretary to the Enugu State Government, positions he held until 2002. He had amassed an impressive political resume at the local level.
Ike Ekweremadu ran for Senate for the first time in 2003 and was elected. He was elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the Peoples Democratic Party ticket to represent the Enugu West Senatorial District. He was re-elected in the subsequent senatorial elections in 2007 and 2011.
In 2007, he was appointed as the Senate’s vice president while remained a senator. As vice president, he was in charge of assigning committee chairmanships to the southeast zone, making decisions that some senators found unpalatable. When Ojo Maduekwe was controversially appointed to a cabinet position in July 2007, Ike Ekweremadu was instrumental in restoring calm.
Ike Ekweremadu was named co-chairman of a committee responsible with organizing the PDP candidate for governor of Anambra State’s primary elections in September 2009. He was appointed to lead the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in September 2009, and he also served on an ad hoc commission tasked with restoring constitutional order in the Niger Republic. In August 2011, he was elected as the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and took over as Speaker of the regional parliament. He was still the Senate’s deputy president in 2011.
In the 2015 Federal Republic of Nigeria elections, he ran again and won the Enugu West Senatorial District. It’s worth noting that he was recently re-elected as the Senate’s Deputy President.
Ike Ekweremadu has proposed a number of legislation and motions. He also chaired the special Senate committee for the 1999 Constitutional Review. The fact that the 2011 elections were free and fair lends support to the electoral reform, which was effectively aided by the National Assembly’s Constitution Review Committees.
Personal Life
He is married to Lady Nwanneka Ekweremadu, PhD, with whom he has four children, one of whom is currently battling a failed kidney.
Controversy
An Attack in Nuremberg, Germany
On August 17, 2019, Ekweremadu was severely attacked in Nuremberg while attending the Ndi-Igbo Germany’s Second Annual Cultural Festival and Convention. IPB (Indigenous People of Biafra) members stormed the event venue and began questioning Ekweremadu about Igbo killings during Python Dance and Operation Crocodile Smile. Ekweremadu was also questioned about his alleged role in Nigeria’s IPOB ban. As the situation deteriorated, Ekweremadu was dragged from the arena, attacked, and spit on. When he fled the scene, he claimed that his injuries were minor.
Nnamdi Kanu, the head of IPOB, called the attack on Ekweremadu a “polite warning” and forewarned other Igbo governors of potential treatment along the same lines. The four suspects were detained, found guilty of assault, and given a 20-day sentence of hard labour without the possibility of a fine.
Organ-Harvesting Conspiracy
On June 23, 2022, before the UK Magistrate’s Court, Ekweremadu and his wife were charged with planning a plot to arrange the entry into the UK of an alleged 21-year-old from Lagos in order to harvest organs.
Awards and Honours
- Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR).
- Knight of the Good Shepherd, Ikeoha Ndigbo.
- Rotary Club’s Outstanding Citizen of the World 2017.
- Dr Kwame Nkurumah Africa Leadership Award (2005).
- Rotary Club’s Outstanding Citizen of the World 2017.
- Appointment by the University of Lincoln, UK, as Visiting Professor of Corporate and International Linkages.
Ike Ekwerenmadu Net Worth
His estimated net worth is unavailable.
