Senator Barinada Mpigi, the lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works.
Mpigi passed away on Thursday at the age of 64 following a brief illness, according to a National Assembly source.
Mpigi chaired the powerful Committee on Works, which is in charge of federal road infrastructure and associated projects nationwide, and represented Rivers South-East in the 10th National Assembly until his passing.
Mpigi was elected to the House of Representatives in 2011 and again in 2016, marking the beginning of his parliamentary career.
After winning an election to represent Rivers South-East on the Peoples Democratic Party platform, he later switched to the Senate in 2019.
He was named chairman of a joint Senate committee during the 9th Assembly that was tasked with looking into crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
This was a crucial task at a time when the nation was dealing with extensive pipeline vandalism and dwindling oil income.
A somber atmosphere descended upon legislators who had convened for budget defense hearings on Thursday as word of his passing seeped into the Senate chamber.
Speaking at the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism session, Senator Mohammed Onawo, the lawmaker for Nasarawa South in the 10th National Assembly, praised the late Rivers senator and asked his fellow lawmakers to remember him.
Following that, lawmakers were urged to hold a minute of silence in his honor.
“May his gentle soul rest in peace,” Ogoshi said.
Members of the House of Representatives also flooded in with tributes.
On Thursday, Akin Alabi, the Chairman of the House Committee on Works, honored the late senator on his official X account.
He wrote, “Good night, my dear friend. Rest in peace, Senator Mpigi Barinada. Senator Mpigi represented Rivers South East in the Senate. ”
Mpigi’s passing occurs just three months after the passing of Senator Okey Ezea, the legislator who represented the Enugu North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate.
