The Senate was thrown into mourning on Thursday following the death of the lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, Senator Barinada Mpigi.

A National Assembly source disclosed that Mpigi died on Thursday at the age of 64 after a brief illness.

Until his death, Mpigi represented Rivers South-East in the 10th National Assembly and chaired the influential Committee on Works, which oversees federal road infrastructure and related projects across the country.

Mpigi began his legislative career in the House of Representatives, where he was first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2016.

He later moved to the Senate in 2019 after winning an election to represent Rivers South-East on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.

During the 9th Assembly, he was appointed chairman of a joint Senate committee set up to investigate crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region — a critical assignment at a time when the country grappled with declining oil revenues and widespread pipeline vandalism.

News of his death filtered into the Senate chamber during Thursday’s proceedings, casting a sombre mood over lawmakers who had gathered for budget defence sessions.

Speaking during the session of the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, the lawmaker representing Nasarawa South in the 10th National Assembly, Senator Mohammed Onawo, paid glowing tribute to the late Rivers senator and urged his colleagues to honour his memory.

Lawmakers were subsequently asked to observe a minute’s silence in his honour.

“May his gentle soul rest in peace,” Ogoshi said.

Tributes also poured in from members of the House of Representatives.

The Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, paid tribute to the late senator on his official X handle on Thursday.

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 demise of the lawmaker representing Enugu North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate, Senator Okey Ezea.

His family had clarified the circumstances surrounding Ezea’s death at the time, dispelling earlier claims that he died overseas.

In a statement issued from Abuja and signed by his son, Jideofor Ezea, the family confirmed that the senator passed away at a private hospital in Lagos at about 11:07 p.m. on Tuesday after a brief illness.

With Mpigi’s passing, the Senate has once again been confronted with the loss of one of its serving members, deepening concerns over the string of deaths recorded in the current Assembly. (The PUNCH, excluding headline)

Update news