The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, was at the weekend appointed an Honorary Mayor-President, City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America, USA.
The honour was conferred on Ekweremadu, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Office of the Mayor-President on the sideline of his maiden lectures as a Professor and Senior Mentoring Scholar, E-Governance and Strategic Government Studies, Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy and Social Sciences, Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Writing on his Facebook page, @IamEkweremadu, he said: “I paid a courtesy visit to the Office of the Mayor-President of Baton Rouge. I was warmly received and I had a heart-to-heart discussion with Veneeth Iyengar on governance, economy, among others.
“The Mayor, Sharon Broome, also graciously appointed me an Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge.”
Earlier, Ekweremadu thanked the Mayor for giving Africans and Nigerians in particular the opportunities to excel in the City. He reiterated his commitment to building the necessary local and international partnerships to make the world a better place.
“I am in Baton Rouge to teach and interact with Fulbright Scholars, Exchange Scholars, and Graduate Students at the International Centre for Information and Nelson Mandela Institute of Research.
“I observed that a lot of Africans, especially Nigerians are benefitting from the university and the City of Baton Rouge. We have here distinguished Nigerians doing very well both the academic world and other areas of human endeavor. I am impressed and thank you for availing them the numerous opportunities to excel”, he said.
Earlier, Senator Ekweremadu was received by the President-Chancellor of the Southern University, Dr. Ray Belton; Vice Chancellor, Dr. James Ammons; Dean, Mandela School of Public Policy, Prof. Damien Ejigiri, and Professor Victor Mbarika.
Dr. Belton expressed gratitude to Prof. Ekweremadu for accepting to be part of the University, noting that the Senator’s wealth of experience acquired at the local government, state, national, and Africa regional levels would be highly beneficial to their scholars.
Recall that Ekweremadu, a former Local Government Council Chairman, Chief of Staff at Enugu State Government House, Secretary to Enugu State Government, Senator since 2003, presiding officer since 2007, and former Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, was appointed a Professor by Southern University, Baton Rouge in February 2018. He holds a PhD in Law.
