Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has been invited to occupy Nigeria’s only seat as a founding Member of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace, IPTP, an initiative by the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, GCTP.
This was conveyed to him in a letter signed by the President of the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, Ahmed Bin Mohamed Aljarwan.
Expressing worry over the prevalence of terrorism and extremism in the world, Aljarwan noted that Ekweremadu’s experience would help the Parliament to achieve its objectives, including building values that promote global peace.
He wrote: “We are all confronted by the present world situation which is disturbed by the prevalent terrorism and extremism caused by racial, religious and ethnic discrimination leading to intolerance, injustice and loss of the dignity of human life among on planet Earth. This has given rise to hatred and instilled destructive ideas especially in the minds of the youth who are the future of the world.
“In order to disseminate the culture of Peace and tolerance, especially among the youth, we have established the Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP). This aim is to inculcate and spread humanistic values of compassion, respect for life, acceptance and tolerance as a way to peace.
“We endeavor to do this through preventive diplomacy efforts, supporting youth initiatives and collaborations with the governments, schools, and universities at both public and private levels, research centers, thought leaders and media.
“GCTP has also established, among its main organs, the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace which embodies one of the most specialized parliaments of the world dedicated to promoting peace around the world.
“The IPTP is in line with the International Parliamentary Union and includes representatives from international parliaments from across the world.
“I take this opportunity to invite your Excellency to join the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace. We are sure that your accession is a real addition to the ability of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace to achieve its objectives”.
Meanwhile, the deputy senate president has accepted the appointment, describing it as a “great honour and great privilege and in tandem with my conviction that global peace is possible through concerted efforts and justice for all”.
Ekweremadu is a ranking Member of the Nigerian Senate, the longest serving presiding officer at the National Assembly of Nigeria, and a former Speaker of the Parliament of Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, where his efforts at regional peace was widely acknowledged.
He is also a Professor and Senior Mentoring Scholar of E-Governance and Strategic Government Studies at the Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
With this development, Ekweremadu will become the first Nigerian to sit in IPTP as it holds its inaugural session at the Maltese Parliament in July 2018.
