Ekweremadu Joins Governorship Race In Enugu 

Ekweremadu states that zoning is a concept he does not believe in.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the former Deputy President of the Senate, has entered the race for governor of Enugu State in 2023.

On Friday, March 11, 2022, he made the announcement at a press conference in Enugu dubbed “media consultation.”

Ekweremadu, who has represented Enugu West in the Senate since 2003, is reaching the conclusion of his fifth term.

He indicated that his ambition is to become the governor of Enugu State as a whole, rather than simply a zone governor.

Ekweremadu stated categorically that he does not believe in zoning and that he will implement an all-inclusive governing system that will benefit not only a zone, but the whole state.

Enugu state is divided into three senatorial zones: Enugu North, Enugu East, and Enugu West.

However, in the state, there is an unwritten political agreement that political stakeholders have exploited throughout time to choose which zone produces a governor.

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the present governor, is from Enugu North, and it is expected that the Enugu East zone would produce the next governor.

Meanwhile, Ekweremadu has criticised the zoning agreement, claiming that if it were in effect, he would not have been in the Senate for five terms.

He said, “If anybody said there was an agreement on zoning, let that person say it. I was never a product of zoning. If there had been zoning, I’d not have been in the Senate for five times.”

The lawmaker further stated that he is competing for the position in order to pave a new route for Enugu.

If elected, Ekweremadu claimed he will establish an independent security organisation to supplement the state’s existing security organisations and guarantee that the state’s security concerns are no longer a problem.

He also set a six-month deadline for resolving the state’s recurrent water deficit, particularly in Enugu.