The Senate has provided a detailed account of how it mourned its late colleague, Senator Ifeanyi Uba.
This follows reports suggesting that the Senate failed to participate in the funeral arrangements.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Senate rejected these claims, asserting that it had accorded Senator Ubah all the necessary honours.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Yemi Adaramodu, stated that the Senate made history by dedicating an entire legislative day to pay tribute to the late senator.
His seat in the Senate chamber was draped with the national flag, a mark of recognition for his significant contributions to the Senate and his constituents.
The Senate also clarified that it had shown continuous support from the moment news of Senator Ubah’s death broke. It emphasized that the Senate had reached out to the people and government of Anambra State to express condolences, demonstrating its commitment to honouring the late senator’s legacy.
Recall that Senate President Godswill Akpabio led a delegation of principal officers and senators to visit Senator Ubah’s family in Lagos shortly after his passing. Nearly 100 senators attended a special valedictory session in his honour, where tributes were paid by notable figures, including Vice President Kashim Shettima. These tributes highlighted Ubah’s work as a philanthropist, businessman, and politician.
The Senate also revealed that a substantial number of its members traveled to Nnewi to represent the institution during the burial, and had already contacted the family before the funeral took place. The Senate strongly condemned any insinuations that it had abandoned the late senator, labeling such reports as misinformed and dismissing them as unrealistic expectations of a grand public display.
The Senate reaffirmed that it had fully honoured Senator Ifeanyi Ubah’s memory, rejecting claims that it had failed in its duty. The statement labeled such suggestions as “preposterous” and a misunderstanding of the Senate’s respectful approach to mourning.
The statement said, “for the first time in the history of the National Assembly, a whole Legislative day was dedicated to paying Tributes to our departed colleague. His seat was adorned with the national flag which was huge honor and recognition of his contributions to the Senate and the good people he represented.
“The Nigerian Senate did not abandon the late Senator and his family right from the moment the news of his death became public knowledge news.
“In fact, the Senate commiserated with the people and government of Anambra State over his death.
“The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, it would be recalled, had immediately after the demise of our late colleague was made public, led a high powered delegation of some principal officers and members of the Senate to the Lagos residence of the late Senator to commiserate with his wife and children.
“Almost 100 Senators of the 109 members attended a valedictory session held in his honor, where senators including vice president Kashim Shettima paid tribute to his accomplishments as a, philanthropist, businessman and politician.
“Having done all that in his honor and some sections of the media saw that as an abandonment, it shows that the minds behind the ill-informed story were expecting distinguished Senators to storm Nnewi in a show-off, while mourning the untimely demise of their colleague.
“It is preposterous that anyone under any guise would suggest that the Senate failed in its role to honor the memory of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah.”
