It was also a day the community had the opportunity to welcome the Deputy Senate President in their midst for the first time after his historic reelection.
The occasion proper was a dual ceremony of church service in celebration of the 50th birthday of Hon Matthias Ekweremadu (OON), the younger brother to the Senator and dedication of the new Church auditorium built and donated to Awgu/Aninri Diocese of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion by the younger Ekweremadu who was a former Chairman of Aninri Local Government and currently the Chief Whip of the Enugu State House of Assembly representing Aninri constituency in the House.
In his homily, the Bishop of Awgu/Aninri Anglican Diocese, Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ugwu who was the officiating Priest extolled the virtues of Senator Ike and Hon. Matthias Ekweremadu describing them as shining light for the community, the Church, Enugu state and Nigeria at large. He noted that for one to celebrate his attainment of 50 years of age with the donation of millions of Naira church building to his community goes a long way to speak volume of his love for God and humanity adding that the church lack enough word to thank the lawmaker.
Bishop Ugwu who emphasized on abundant blessings and benefits of doing God's work in cash and kind mandated the people of Obuagu Mpu who are the immediate beneficiaries of the Church to take advantage of the development to draw closer to God through dedicated service to the church and love for one another and always ensure that they pray for the benefactor and his family, the Anglican communion, Aninri, Enugu state and Nigeria in general.
Commenting on the reelection of Senator Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate President, the Bishop described him as a destined leader and an indomitable politician who has achieved great feats that nobody expected of him, noting that his reelection as No 2 senator for three terms consecutively is a miracle orchestrated by destiny. "God ordained him for this assignment and nobody can stop him, he will continue to grow from strength to strength until he reaches where God programmed for him". He added
In his remark, Senator Ekweremadu appreciated the contribution of the Anglican Church to the peace and progress of Nigeria through prayer and message of good conduct to the people noting that the church has in particular made massive contribution to the success of democracy in the country and called for continued support through prayers for peace and progress of the country.
The Mpu born senator who attributed the success of the 2015 elections as well as his reelection as senator and as deputy senate president to the love of God through prayers, reassured that the National Assembly will continue to serve the interest of the people. He promised to continue to support the Church and offered to complete the on-going construction of the Bishop's Court in Awgu/Aninri Anglican Diocese.
In his words, the junior Ekweremadu who stormed the altar with his wife said that he was inspired to build the 1000 capacity Church auditorium at 50 by the love of God upon him and his family, noting that the Almighty has been so good to him and his family. "as I was approaching 50, I told my wife that I would like to do something special for God while celebrating my 50th birth day, at the end of the deliberation with my wife, we agreed to build this church, my prayer is that God will use the Church to continue to bless the people" he added
The former council chairman and current chief whip at the Hallowed Chamber of the House thanked the Church and the people of Obuagu Mpu for their support to his political career and that of his brother with prayers and their votes all along assuring that he will always provide his widow's mite for the development and progress of the Anglican communion and Aninri at large.
In her words, the deputy governor, Her Excellency Hon Ezeilo, thanked the church for supporting the government always and commended the junior Ekweremadu, who she described as her former colleague in the House, for his vision and magnanimity in providing what the people of Obuagu Mpu need at this point in time adding that nothing could be more important than a place where people can gather to meet with God and pray for their needs.
She called for continued support and prayers from the gathering for the new administration in Enugu state under governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, assuring that the good relationship between the government and people of the state will remain intact under Ugwuanyi as the new governor is poised to continue where his predecessor, Sullivan Chime, stopped in providing dividends of democracy to the people.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Aninri Local Government Area, Hon M. C. Nwobodo said that the Church is yet another giant stride from the Ekweremadus to the land of Aninri, adding that the family has been a source of immense blessings to the local government. According to him, Aninri is the fastest developing and growing local government in Nigeria courtesy of the deputy senate president and his brother who have continued to attract developmental projects to the people.
"The senator and his brother have been so wonderful to us in so many areas, from providing job opportunities for our people to infrastructure among other things that I cannot just count here. As you can see for yourself, Aninri, I believe, is the fastest developing local government area in Nigeria and that is as a result of their good works, we are really proud of them" the chairman donated N1Million to the church.
As expected, the church service was graced by top government functionaries from Enugu state led by the deputy governor. The Bishops of all the Diocese of the Angican Province of Enugu led by Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma and former Minister of power, Venerable Professor Chinedu Nebo were also present.
Others include the Member representing Awgu, Aninri and Oji River Federal constituency in the Federal House of Reps, Hon Toby Okechukwu and other members of the State and National Assembly, chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP led by the former Acting state chairman of the party in Enugu state, Elder David Ajah who is now the deputy state chairman of the party, a group of former local government chairmen in Enugu state, traditional rulers and women groups among others.
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