Michael Onwuka, Enugu
Former Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, has announced his withdrawal from the 2023 gubernatorial election in Enugu State.
Ekweremadu disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Enugu.
The senator representing Enugu West Senatorial Zone, said that the decision followed wide consultations and in a bid not to jeopardize the peace and security in the state.
Recall that Ekweremadu also withdrew from the gubernatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held on June 25, 2022, which produced Mr Peter Mba as flag bearer.
Ikengaonline reports that speculations were rife of the moves by the senator to run on the platform of another party.
However, Ekweremadu said that he had consulted with the elders of the party and other Nigerians and had painstaking introspection on his contributions to the development of the PDP.
The senator said that he would not want to put anybody in harms way by a foreseeable combustive political environment, “as my ambition is not worth the life of any Enugu son or daughter.”
Ekweremadu said that he had received assurances from Mba that everybody would participate in his campaign team.
He said that the PDP gubernatorial candidate also promised to integrate his (Ekweremadu’s) ‘Pathway to a New Enugu State’ in his programme.
“It is time to unite. I congratulate Mba and wish him success,” Ekweremadu said.
