Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria — The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was thrown into mourning on Thursday following the death of Senator Barinada Mpigi, the lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in Rivers State, southern Nigeria. He was 64 years old.
A source within the National Assembly of Nigeria confirmed that Senator Mpigi died on Thursday after a brief illness. His passing was announced during proceedings at the Senate chamber in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, casting a sombre atmosphere over lawmakers who had gathered for budget defence sessions.
Senator Mpigi was serving in Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly, the country’s current federal legislature inaugurated in 2023. He chaired the Senate Committee on Works, a key committee responsible for oversight of federal road infrastructure and related public works projects across Nigeria. The committee plays a critical role in supervising government spending and implementation of national road construction and maintenance programmes in Africa’s most populous country.
Before joining the Senate, Mpigi served in Nigeria’s House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the National Assembly. He was first elected into the House in 2011 and re-elected in 2016. In 2019, he won election to the Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, one of Nigeria’s major political parties, to represent Rivers South-East Senatorial District.
During the 9th National Assembly, he chaired a joint Senate committee established to investigate crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. The Niger Delta is the centre of Nigeria’s oil production and a major source of the country’s export earnings. The assignment came at a time when Nigeria was struggling with declining oil revenues and widespread pipeline vandalism, issues that significantly affected national income and economic stability.
News of his death filtered into the Senate chamber during deliberations, deepening the gravity of the session. Speaking during a meeting of the Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Senator Mohammed Onawo, who represents Nasarawa South Senatorial District in Nasarawa State, north-central Nigeria, paid tribute to his late colleague and urged lawmakers to honour his memory.
Lawmakers were subsequently asked to observe a minute of silence in his honour.
“May his gentle soul rest in peace,” Ogoshi said.
Tributes also came from members of the House of Representatives. Akin Alabi, Chairman of the House Committee on Works, wrote on his official X account on Thursday, “Good night, my dear friend. Rest in Peace, Senator Mpigi Barinada. Sen Mpigi represented Rivers South East in the Senate”.
Senator Mpigi’s death comes barely three months after the passing of Senator Okey Ezea, who represented Enugu North Senatorial District in Enugu State, south-east Nigeria, in the 10th Senate. At the time, his family clarified that he died at a private hospital in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, at about 11:07 p.m. West African Time (WAT, GMT+1) on Tuesday following a brief illness.
With Mpigi’s passing, the Senate has once again lost a serving member, raising concerns within political circles about the growing number of deaths recorded in the current Assembly. Okay News reports that lawmakers are expected to formally communicate with his family and constituents in Rivers State in the coming days, in line with parliamentary tradition.
