FORMER Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has clarified some statements attributed to him in the interview published in the Sunday, February 27, 2022, edition of The Nation newspaper. Ekweremadu said that while the interview was, in principle, in tandem with his stand on godfatherism, impositions, and the need to elevate competence, some words and statements attributed to him were not and could not have been his, as he was always careful in choosing his language.
Ekweremadu made the clarifications in a reaction by his media aide, Mr. Uche Anichukwu. “While the interview represents, in principle, my views on liberalising the political contests, elevating competence, and the futility of godfatherism, especially in power successions across the states of the federation as our political history clearly show, several terms and statements published in the interview do not represent my choice of words. I choose my words carefully. For instance, I couldn’t have and indeed didn’t say that some former governors or godfathers ‘ran away’ from their respective states over political disagreements with their godsons. That is to me, regrading.
“Therefore, I appeal to our respectable and quite supportive friends in the media to always kindly cross-check with me or my office after any media engagement if unsure of what I said. This is, by far, better than putting words in my mouth or quoting me out of context, as I say only the things I mean and mean the things I say”, the lawmaker concluded.