Senator Godiya Akwashiki, who represented the Nasarawa North Senatorial Zone in the National Assembly, has died at the age of 52.

A family source confirmed that Akwashiki died on Wednesday in a hospital in India, where he had been receiving treatment.

According to the source, the senator had been seriously ill for some time before he was flown abroad for medical care. The family described his death as “a great loss to Nasarawa State, the entire Eggon nation and the country as a whole”.

Akwashiki was born on August 3, 1973, in Angba Iggah village, Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

He began his political career in the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, where he served between 2011 and 2019 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). During his first term (2011–2015), he was the Majority Leader of the House, and in his second term (2015–2019), he served as Deputy Speaker.

In 2019, Akwashiki was elected senator representing Nasarawa North Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was re-elected in the 2023 general elections under the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

At the National Assembly, he served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Media and Public Affairs. He was later named Chairman of the Senate Committee on Air Force on August 8, 2023.

Akwashiki had his early education at Government Primary School, Angba Iggah, where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1987. He proceeded to Government Technical College, Assakio, and completed his secondary education in 1993.

He later attended Nasarawa State University, Keffi, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 2010.

The late senator is survived by his wife and children.