SDP, others eulogise late senator
The absence of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and other principal officers of the National Assembly, yesterday, drew attention as the remains of Senator Godiya Akwashiki, who represented Nasarawa North Senatorial District, arrived from India.
The late lawmaker’s body was received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport cargo terminal, Abuja by leaders of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), political associates and sympathisers, with no serving senator physically present at the solemn event.
Those in attendance included Acting National Chairman of the SDP, Prof. Sadiq Gombe; the party’s former presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo; former governor of Nasarawa State, Umaru Al-Makura; Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals, Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi, and former Minister of Information, Labaran Makun.
However, the absence of Akpabio and other Senate leaders sparked concern among observers, given that the deceased was a sitting senator at the time of his death.
Addressing the issue, Prof. Gombe described Akwashiki’s death as a major national loss, stressing that it affected not only his constituents but also the SDP and Nigeria as a whole.
When asked why no sitting senator was present to receive the late lawmaker’s remains, Gombe explained that members of the National Assembly were currently on recess.
Also speaking, Adebayo paid glowing tribute to the late senator, describing him as a principled and outstanding public servant whose death has left a deep vacuum in Nasarawa State.
In his remarks, Gaza said Akwashiki’s passing had united the party and the state in grief, noting that the late lawmaker’s legacy of service would endure.
The legislator’s death may have altered Nasarawa’s political landscape, with leaders describing his passing as the loss of a bridge-builder whose influence cut across party lines and institutions.
Ex-governor, Al-Makura, who spoke in Abuja during a condolence visit to the deceased’s family, stated that Akwashiki’s impact went far beyond his years in office.
He recalled the late lawmaker’s rise from the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, where he emerged Majority Leader in 2011 on his first attempt.
The late lawmaker later returned to the Assembly as Deputy Speaker, a role in which Al-Makura said he demonstrated maturity, balance and legislative depth, qualities that paved the way for his election into the Senate.
Both men served in the Ninth Senate from 2019, where Akwashiki was said to have made meaningful contributions at plenary sessions, during oversight engagements, and within closed-door executive sessions.
Echoing similar sentiments, Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Nasarawa State chapter, Safiyanu Isa Andaha, said Akwashiki’s death marked the end of an era of effective representation in Nasarawa North Senatorial District.
Andaha, who doubles as Executive Chairman of Akwanga Local Council, said while faith offered solace, the pain of losing a committed leader remained heavy.
Meanwhile, a senatorial aspirant in Nasarawa North, Duba Dodo, described Akwashiki’s passing as a setback not only for Nasarawa State but for the nation’s democratic development.
