Tributes as Rivers senator Barinada Mpigi dies at 64

Tributes poured in on Thursday following the death of Barinada Mpigi, the senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Works. He was 64.

A source at the National Assembly confirmed that the lawmaker died after a brief illness, sending shockwaves through the Senate during ongoing proceedings.

Until his death, Mpigi served in the 10th National Assembly, where he headed the influential Committee on Works, responsible for oversight of federal road infrastructure and related projects nationwide.

Mpigi began his legislative journey in the House of Representatives after his election in 2011. He was re-elected in 2016 before moving to the Senate in 2019 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), representing Rivers South-East.

During the 9th Assembly, he chaired a joint Senate committee tasked with investigating crude oil theft in the Niger Delta — a critical assignment at a time of declining oil revenues and widespread pipeline vandalism.

News of his passing filtered into the Senate chamber during Thursday’s budget defence sessions, casting a sombre atmosphere over lawmakers.

Senator Mohammed Onawo, representing Nasarawa South, paid glowing tribute to the late Rivers lawmaker during a session of the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, urging colleagues to honour his memory. Lawmakers subsequently observed a minute’s silence in his honour.

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

In the House of Representatives, tributes also flowed. The Chairman of the House Committee on Works, Akin Alabi, took to his official X handle to mourn Mpigi, writing: “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 passing of Okey Ezea, who represented Enugu North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate. His family had clarified at the time that he died at a private hospital in Lagos after a brief illness, dispelling earlier reports that he passed away overseas.