- Senator Ekweremadu, who recently became a professor of law, said his words were taken out of context
- The deputy senate president said his words were warnings to colleagues to beware of the damage past mistakes can cause if repeated
- Ekweremadu also insisted that the Nigerian Armed Forces remain one of the best on the African continent and he would not insult them
The Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate Ike Ekweremadu has denied that he called for a military coup d’état in Nigeria.
According to Punch, the high-ranking lawmaker said his words on the floor of the upper house of legislature were quoted out of context.
Ekweremadu was said to have made the denial on Saturday, March 10 in the oil-rich Bayelsa state.
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He was attending a dinner hosted by state governor Seriake Dickson for him and executive members of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Africa Region).
At the dinner, Ekweremadu claimed that he never made any derogatory remarks against the Nigerian military, which he says remains one of the best fighting forces on the continent.
He insisted that he was misquoted and went on to say that statements made by lawmakers in the course of their duty should be taken within the proper context before any form of reaction.
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He said his remarks on the floor of the Senate were to caution fellow lawmakers to avoid past mistakes that led to military coup in the First Republic.
NAIJ.com had reported the Nigerian military's sharp reaction to Ekwermadu's words on the floor of the Senate.
The Nigerian military declared that it was derogatory for the deputy president of the senate, Ike Ekweremadu, to claim that the military can still take over the government of the country because its democracy was already receding.
The military, in a statement by the acting director of defence information Brigadier-General J. A. Agim, said the statement was derogatory to the entire military country’s armed forces.
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Source: Naija.ng