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.
