*Peter Obi’s presence at Barau’s daughter’s wedding excites Akpabio
Sunday Aborisade in Abuja
Chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gathered in Abuja yesterday to honour a former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, and his wife Beatrice, as their son Lloyd got wedded to his heartrob, Tiffany.
This is a Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, described the presence of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, at the wedding Fatiha of Amir, the son of Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, as a sign of a united Nigeria.
The PDP chieftains present included three former Senate Presidents – Anyim Pius Anyim, David Mark and Bukola Saraki – and PDP governorship candidate in Kogi State, Senator Dino Melaye, among others.
The wedding, which took place at Basilica of Grace Anglican Church, Gudu District, Abuja, also attracted top chieftains of the ruling APC, including Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu; Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, and Minister-designate, Senator David Umahi, among other guests, who graced the occasion in solidarity with the Ekweremadus.
Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, had included Lloyd as one of his commissioners.
Recall that Senator Ekweremadu, who represented Enugu West senatorial district in the Senate for about two decades, is currently being held in a UK prison alongside his wife Beatrice after they were found guilty of organ trafficking and consequently sentenced to different jail terms in May, 2023.
A UK Court had sentenced the former deputy Senate President and PDP chieftain to nine years and eight months in prison.
The court also sentenced Mrs Beatrice Ekweremadu to four years and six months in prison, while a doctor who allegedly colluded with them, Obinna Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ekweremadu and the two others were found guilty of organ trafficking but their sentencing was deferred to May. They allegedly procured a 21-year-old Nigerian and flew him to the UK with the intention to harvest his kidney for their ailing daughter, Sonia Ekweremadu.
Meanwhile, President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has described the presence of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Obi, at the wedding Fatiha of Amir, the son of Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, as a sign of a united Nigeria.
Akpabio, according to a statement by his Media Office yesterday, spoke after the event in Kano on Friday.
He noted that the presence of many high-profile personalities at the wedding ceremony attests to the fact that Senator Barau is a peaceful man of the people.
The Senate President said, “You can see that even Labour Party Pesidential Candidate Peter Obi and his people are here; this tells you that Nigeria will remain united as one entity,” he said.
The wedding Fatiha, graced by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was between Amir and Bilkisu Aliyu Sani Madaki, the daughter of the Deputy Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Aliyu Sani Madaki.
The event was held at the Isyaka Rabiu Juma’at Mosque, Goron Dutse, Kano State.
