The lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Barinada Mpigi has passed away on Thursday.
The Senate was thrown into mourning following the death of the lawmaker.
A source at the National Assembly confirmed that the 64-year-old senator passed away after a brief illness, bringing to an end his years of service in the federal legislature.
Until his death, Mpigi was a serving member of the 10th National Assembly, where he chaired the powerful Committee on Works, the panel charged with oversight of federal road infrastructure and other key public works nationwide.
His political career began in the House of Representatives, where he first won election in 2011 and secured a second term in 2016.
He later transitioned to the Senate in 2019 after emerging victorious in the race for Rivers South-East on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
During the 9th Assembly, he headed a joint Senate committee established to investigate crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region — a sensitive national assignment at a time of dwindling oil revenues and persistent pipeline vandalism.
News of his passing reached lawmakers during proceedings on Thursday, casting a sombre mood over budget defence sessions in the chamber.
Speaking at a sitting of the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Senator Mohammed Onawo, who represents Nasarawa South in the 10th National Assembly, paid tribute to the late senator and urged colleagues to honour his legacy.
Lawmakers were thereafter asked to observe a minute’s silence in his memory.
“May his gentle soul rest in peace,” Ogoshi said.
Tributes also came from the House of Representatives as the Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, mourned Mpigi in a post on his official X account.
He wrote, “Good night, my dear friend. Rest in Peace, Senator Mpigi Barinada. Sen Mpigi represented Rivers South East in the Senate”.
Mpigi’s death comes barely three months after the passing of Senator Okey Ezea, who represented Enugu North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate.
His family clarified reports surrounding his death.
In a statement issued from Abuja and signed by his son, Jideofor Ezea, the family confirmed that he died at a private hospital in Lagos after a brief illness.
With Mpigi’s passing, the Senate has once again been confronted with the loss of one of its serving members, raising fresh concerns over the spate of deaths recorded in the current Assembly.
Comments