The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday said the National Assembly was struggling to come to terms with a wave of deaths that has hit the legislature in the last two years, describing the period as “tumultuous” and deeply unsettling for lawmakers.

Akpabio spoke at a Night of Tributes held in honour of the late Senator representing Enugu North Senatorial District, Okechukwu Ezea, at the National Ecumenical Centre, Abuja, where senators, political leaders, and family members gathered to mourn the fallen lawmaker.

Leading tributes on behalf of the 10th Senate, Akpabio said the repeated loss of senators in quick succession had left the institution inconsolable.

“For the Senate, we cannot be consoled,” he said. “The last two years have been very tumultuous for us. We lost three senators in quick succession.”

Akpabio recalled the sudden death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah in the United Kingdom, describing it as one of the most shocking moments for the Red Chamber.

“We lost a very eminent Senator, Ifeanyi Ubah, in the United Kingdom. He wasn’t sick. He travelled to London and even did a live stream while his children were seated at the airports in London,” Akpabio said. “Then the next day, his wife called to announce his demise.”

According to the Senate President, the incident underscored the fragility of life and the limits of political power.

“It is a lesson to the rest of us that we should take life easy, even in politics,” he said. “We should try our best to live in peace with God.”

Akpabio described Senator Ezea’s death as another painful blow to the legislature, noting that no one seeks election into the Senate with the expectation of dying in office.

“Nobody would want to contest an election to be a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, only to die,” he said. “Just as the news of Senator Ezea’s death came as a shock to his family and community, it was also a shock to us in the Senate.”

Senator Ezea, a member of the 10th Senate, died in November 2025 after a brief illness. Until his death, he was regarded as one of the most outspoken lawmakers from the South-East and a prominent voice in the Red Chamber.

Akpabio praised the late lawmaker’s legislative contributions, describing him as diligent, principled, and vocal on issues affecting his constituents and the nation.

“Senator Ezea was a very good legislator. His contributions on the floor of the Senate were magnificent,” he said. “He was always impeccably dressed, often in very good suits. But death comes when it comes.”

On behalf of the Senate, Akpabio conveyed condolences to the family and urged them to take solace in the legacy Ezea left behind.

Also speaking at the event, former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, described the late senator as a man who lived a good and consistent life.

Addressing Ezea’s children directly, Obi said, “It is difficult to speak on this occasion, considering what your father represents. But I want you to be assured that your father lived a good life. We cannot question God. Just know that your father lived a good life.”

Senator Nenadi E. Usman, Interim National Chairman of the Labour Party, also paid tribute, highlighting Ezea’s steadfast loyalty to the party and his people. She recalled that even hours before his death on 18th November 2025, Ezea had taken time to guide the selection of an Enugu indigene for a key party position, demonstrating his enduring commitment to his state and to public service.

“Senator Ezea’s life and legacy remind us that true leadership is measured not by position or power, but by commitment to principles and the courage to uphold them until the end,” Usman said. She noted that Ezea remained the only Labour Party member in the National Assembly from Enugu State who refused to defect, standing firm even when others abandoned the party platform

The tribute night closed on a sombre note, with lawmakers and mourners reflecting not only on the life of Senator Ezea, but on the growing toll of loss within Nigeria’s highest legislative chamber—a reminder, as Akpabio noted, that power offers no exemption from mortality.