Senate’s mournful valedictory session for Ewherido

Posted by admin Headlines, Legislature, Senate Wednesday, July 24th, 2013

The dateline was Wednesday, July 17, 2013 and the environment indeed wore a mournful look as the Senate held a special valedictory session in honour of one its own, Senator Akpor Pius Ewherido, who represented who Delta Central Senatorial District on the platform of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) and who changed mortality for immortality the Abuja National Hospital on Sunday, June 30 at the age of 50. Ewherido’s remains were laid in state at the entrance of the Senate Chamber within the National Assembly Complex as early as 9 am that Wednesday morning. Present at the valedictory session were the widow of the late senator, Doye and her children, other members of the family as well as the Delta State governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, among several other people.

Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, on whose shoulder laid the onerous task of declaring the session open, described the senator’s death as very painful to the Senate and legislation generally on account of his remarkable and intellectual contributions on the floor of the Senate while alive. This he said was demonstrated in his novel Bill, “Corporate Manslaughter Bill, 2012” which, against tough opposition and resistance from many of his colleagues, scaled through the second reading last March. The bill was aside other bills Ewherido co-sponsored with other senators. “We shall no doubt continue to miss his physical presence in this Hollow Chamber where while alive, he at every time present, enriched legislative debates with his very versatile knowledge as a lawyer. It is even more painful to us and all those who loved him that he died at 50 when life was just to begin. But who are we to question the Almighty God who gives and takes and to whom, every one of us shall return to, at the appointed time”, Ndoma-Egba said.

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, in his own tribute, described Ewherido as a quintessential senator who served his country creditably well in all capacities bestowed on him while alive. “In the late Senator Pius Ewherido who answered the call of the Almighty God on the 30th of June this year, we witnessed a great, fearless, courageous and intellectually sound senator. With his death, definitely as the Bible says, there is time for everything, time to be born and time to die. May his soul rest in perfect peace”, he said.

For Senator James Manager who is from the same state as Ewherido, the senator’s death had created a big vacuum in the political space of Delta State. He said Ewherido’s position, being one of the key factors in the political equation of the state, would be difficult to fill as he was also very passionate about his people, the Urhobos. Senator Sola Adeyeye recalled the rare moments when the late senator demonstrated his bravery and uncommon intellectual acumen, adding that it was a privilege for him to have Ewherido as a friend. “Pius was a rare gem, who was able to combine tough mind with tender heart. He enriched the Senate Committee on Education as one of the members with magnificent intelligence and gentle wisdom while alive”, he said.

Senator Zainab Abdulkadir Kure, who chairs the Senate Committee on Marine Transport which had the late Ewherido as the vice-chairman, described him as somebody who was very passionate about required transformation in the marine and education sectors. “My close working relationship with the late Senator Pius Ewherido at committee level, mirrored him to me as an intelligent, hardworking and a senator passionately working for needed transformations in sectors the committees he served and over-sighted”, she said.

Senator Kure disclosed further that the late senator was down to earth while alive, adding, “On the last Tuesday in the month of June which preceded the Sunday that he died, Ewherido, after the Senate’s plenary session on that day, came to my office on matters relating to some documentations on Marine Transport, which he promised to study very carefully. But strikingly and now very reflectively, he insisted on having handshakes with everybody in my office on that day, including my secretary who was very busy typing very urgent and important letters for me, without anyone of us knowing that he was bidding us goodbye with the handshake because that was the last day he came to the Senate.”

Senator Margery Chuba-Okadigbo made the widow of the late senator the central focus of her own tribute as she admonished her not to give up hope but remain strong for the sake of her children. Relating Doye’s grieving experience with the one she passed through when she lost her husband, Senator Chuba Okadigbo some 10 years ago, Senator Okadigbo, said, “10 years ago, I wore the same shoes that you are wearing today. And 10 years ago, I did not know that a day will come when I will sit in the very seat that Chuba Okadigbo sat when he was physically here as a senator.”

While Senator Ehigie Uzamere spoke about the possibility of the late Ewherido being still alive if he were to have had access to prompt medical attention, several other lawmakers, including Ayogu Eze, Ganiyu Solomon and Abdul Ningi, also paid glowing tributes to the late senator, as they called on his wife and the little children he left behind to keep their faith in God.

Senate President David Mark, with his moving and emotional tribute, drew the tears out of the eyes of most of the 96 senators that attended the valedictory session. Asserting that Ewherido was not dead because his of enduring legacies, the chairman of the National Assembly said, “The greatest pain is not the one received when we are physically hurt. Neither is it the one received when we are down and out. But it is the one received when one so dear and so close is taken away from us. Death is painful and comes with grief. It is in this grief and melancholy that we mourn one of us.

“The sudden demise of Senator Ewherido is traumatic. Each time death occurs, it tinkers with the oneness, corporate spirit, togetherness and love that bond us in this Senate. Death is inevitable but whenever it occurs, we are taken by surprise. Given the level of impact that Senator Ewherido made not just in his family, hometown, constituency, state and the country at large, it is safe to say that he is not dead because his legacy lives on. Although he was a man with exceptional achievements, he never boasted about his achievement and contributions to his community and the society at large. He was a silent achiever who was referred to by his people as the Uloho (Iroko). He provided shelter to many in his community, a gesture that cannot easily be forgotten.

“To most people from his state, he represented a unique voice of courage and boldness. Senator Ewherido was a lively, calculative and focused person. I can describe him as a man of all seasons who was always confident, vocal and comfortable in any company he found himself. His death was untimely and painful. He left his footprints on the sand of history. He lived a memorable life of a true Catholic and Christian full of enviable legacies.’’

Many of the senators could no longer hold back the tears when Mark went further to say, “Distinguished Senators, if death had given him a chance to bid us farewell, I believe he would have done so gallantly. Senator Ewherido had prepared himself for this journey. In the words of a religious leader, Slor McCarthy; I have got my leave. Bid me farewell, my friends and colleagues. I bow to you all and take my departure. Here I give back the keys of my door,and I give up all claims to my house. I only ask for last kind words from you. We were colleagues for long, but I have received more than I could give. Now the day has dawned and the lamp that lit my dark corner is out. A summon has come and I am ready for my journey.”

The Senate thereafter observed the traditional one-minute silence for the late Senator Pius Akpor Ewherido who most of his colleagues described as a highly cerebral lawmaker who brought intellectualism to bear on legislative business.

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