Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has mourned the death of Senator Barinada Mpigi, who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District.
Mpigi, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works, died on Thursday at the age of 64 after a brief illness.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi, the governor described the late senator as a brother and consummate politician whose impact on Rivers State would not be forgotten.
Fubara said the senator’s death came at a critical time when his experience and services were still greatly needed by the people of the state. He noted that Mpigi had been one of the leading lights in Rivers State’s political landscape.
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The governor commiserated with Mpigi’s immediate family, the people of Rivers South-East Senatorial District and the Senate, urging them to take solace in the impactful and fulfilled life he lived.
Meanwhile, Mpigi’s death threw the Senate into mourning, as lawmakers observed a minute’s silence in his honour after gathering for budget defence sessions.
The late senator began his legislative career in the House of Representatives, where he was first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2016.
In 2019, he moved to the Senate after winning election to represent Rivers South-East on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
During the 9th Assembly, he served as chairman of a joint Senate committee set up to investigate crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Mpigi died barely three months after the passing of Senator Okey Ezea, who represented Enugu North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate.
