Reps adjourn for one week to honour two dead colleagues

The house of representatives has adjourned plenary for one week in honour of two lawmakers who died during the Easter break.

It adjourned Tuesday’s plenary to resume on April 20.

Haruna Maitala from Plateau state died alongside his son following a car accident on April 2.

Four days after, Suleiman Aliyu, another lawmaker who is from Kaduna, also passed on after a brief illness.

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, described the death of the two lawmakers as shocking.

“Honourable Maitala from plateau state; a quiet gentleman. I saw his family last Sunday (in) Jos. As expected, the loss was very painful to his loved ones,” he said.

“The circumstances surrounding his death is very painful. The day he died, he had just came back from an official assignment at ECOWAS parliament and was going to Jos for his son’s wedding when death confronted him.

“He died together with his son and Honourable Yusuf Gadgi’s legislative aide. He tried to run for the house of representatives a couple of times and lost, and eventually got it — and then this. We commiserate with the family.”

The speaker also mourned Aliyu who recently won in court regarding his election.

“Lere’s death is also painful. We know how he struggled in law courts for his election petition case and he eventually won almost after two years. Only for us to hear he died few weeks after his swearing-in,” he said.

“Both deaths are difficult to understand but God knows the best.”

Before it adjourned, the house announced that a valedictory session would be held for Ossy Prestige, a lawmaker from Abia state who died earlier, on February 9.

The green chamber has lost six members since the ninth assembly was inaugurated.