From ADETUTU FOLASADE-KOYI, Abuja

The South-East National Assembly caucus said yesterday any further attack or plot against Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu would be an attack on the zone as well as an affront on democracy.
The federal lawmakers rose from a marathon meeting in Abuja, passed a vote of confidence on him, noting that there’s an attempt to malign and undermine Ekweremadu’s office. They vowed to stand resolutely behind him.
In a statement signed by the 55 federal lawmakers, including all the Senators and members of the House of Representatives, they reiterated that nobody outside the National Assembly can unseat him.
They argued that the federal legislature has an internal mechanism.
“The South-East caucus rose from a crucial meeting where we noted with a deep sense of concern the orchestrated attempts to malign and undermine the highly esteemed person and office of the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu.
“We also noted in particular, that some politicians out of rabid desperation and malice, have gone as far as fabricating baseless allegations against the Deputy President of the Senate to achieve narrow political interests over and above the larger interest of peace and equity in the country.
“Accordingly, therefore, we resolved as follows:
That all South-East members of the National Assembly stand resolutely behind Distinguished Senator Ekweremadu as the Deputy President of the Senate of Nigeria.
That we shall not condone any further attempts to undermine him in that capacity as any such plots or actions  against Senator Ike Ekweremadu shall be viewed as an attack on democracy, good governance, independence of the legislature, and indeed the political interest of the South East in particular and the nation in general and
That the National Assembly has its own internal mechanism for settling internal disputes as prescribed by Section 60 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Source: Sun