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CORPSE OF FORMER SENATE PRESIDENT, JOSEPH WAYAS, FINALLY ARRIVES NIGERIA
The corpse of former President of the Senate, Joseph Wayas, who died in the United Kingdom in December 2021, finally arrived Abuja on Wednesday morning at exactly 4 am via a British Airways flight, a source who witnessed the arrival, had confirmed.
However, Cross River State Governor, Mr Bassey Otu, was reportedly kept in the dark as Senator Agom Jarigbe Agom received the corpse.
Senator Jarigbe is senator representing Cross River North on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said the governor was “in his Asokoro residence either unaware of the movement of the remains of the late senate president or he was not properly briefed.”
The source said “some people in the state joined the family members to receive the corpse led by senator Agom Jarigbe Agom.”
“The remains have been deposited at the National Hospital Abuja. Even there, we didn’t see anyone from the Governor’s side,” the source with adequate knowledge of the planning and movement of the corpse said.
The source further explained that “ordinarily, the National Assembly is supposed to be involved and should not even sit today,” adding that “it’s not clear if NASS is involved or aware as there was no official from there.”
He explained that “Wayas died a poor man,” pointing out that, “The only house he owned was given to him by Ex-Senate president, Ayim Pius Anyim.”
He further said, “We don’t know yet when the burial will be held, no information regarding that yet,” he said.
The spokesman of the Cross River State Governor, Ukoha Ukoha could not immediately be reached for comment.
But Senator Jarigbe confirmed the development in a chat, saying, “the body is in. Confirmed!”
Late Wayas was Senate President in the Second Republic between 1979 and 1983.
Following the demise, then Cross River State Governor, Mr Ben Ayade, inaugurated a funeral committee immediately to plan for his burial.
The committee was chaired by a two-time Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Kanu Agabi.
But arrangements for his burial failed as his remains remained in the UK until Wednesday as family sources complained there was no finance to fund the funeral.The committee reportedly ran into troubles for lack of funds forcing a former executive secretary of the National Planning Commission, Ntufam Ugbo, to quit the committee.
