The House of Representatives on Thursday suspended plenary to mourn Benjamin Uwajumogu, Senator representing Imo West Senatorial District who died the previous day.
Members had arrived the Chamber for the plenary which would have been the last for the year but following the announcement of the death of Uwajumogu on the floor it was shifted to Friday.
In line with the usual National Assembly practice, no legislative business was slated for the day as Members only paid tributes, offered prayers for their deceased colleague in the Upper Chamber and proceeded to sign the condolence register in his honour.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has expressed sadness over the demise of Uwajumogu who represented Imo North Senatorial District in the Senate on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Speaker who described the late senator as a committed lawmaker who put in his best for the country, said he represented his people with absolute dedication to the highest good.
In a condolence message by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, Gbajabimila said: “I received with sadness, news of the death of Senator Benjamin Chukwuemeka Uwajumogu. He was a kind gentleman. He was courteous to all who met him. He was kind to friends and strangers alike, and he gave of himself generously to those in need.
“His public service, from his time in the Imo State House of Assembly as a member, and later as Speaker of the Assembly, through to his service in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was never about personal ambition for its own sake.
“He was a man of the people, who served for the people and now, has left a legacy which the rest of us must emulate and surpass.
“My heart goes out to his wife and children, to his extended family, and to his friends, aides and constituents. I pray that God will give them the grace to bear this loss, and grant to the dearly departed, eternal rest. May his kind and gentle soul, rest in perfect peace,” the Speaker said.
