Alphonsus Obi Igbeke (born 1962) was sworn in as Senator for the Anambra North constituency of

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

on 25 May 2010 after the election of Joy Emordi of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

(PDP) had been annulled. He is a member of the

All Nigeria Peoples Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party (abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...

(ANPP). Igbeke, popularly known as Ubanese, was born in 1962 in Nsugbe to the north of

Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industry, and education. ...

in Anambra State. He studied in Nigeria and the US, earning a PhD in Engineering Sciences. Returning to Nigeria he went into the contracting business, and became a successful businessman with properties in

and

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

. Igbeke was a contender to be a PDP candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives in the 2003 elections, but failed to be nominated. He transferred to the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and ran for election on that platform, but lost to the PDP candidate. Igbeke allegedly used his political connections to arrange for the election tribunal panel to agree that his name had been illegally removed from the PDP primaries and he was declared elected. In the April 2007 election for the Senate seat of Anambra North, Igbeke ran on the ANPP platform. The PDP candidate Joy Emordi was declared the winner, a decision which he appealed. Igbeke's eventual assumption of office in the Senate followed a decision by an Enugu appeal court that declared him the winner of the 2007 senatorial election. The Senate had resisted swearing him in on the grounds that an appeal was in progress, but eventually accepted the court's decision. The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) had strongly criticized the Senate leaders over the delay.

References

1962 births Living people People from Anambra State Members of the Senate (Nigeria) All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria) politicians 21st-century Nigerian politicians {{Nigeria-politician-stub