Fear grips lawmakers, as House of Reps loses four members in four months

By PHILIP NYAM

Fear and panic has gripped members of the House of Representatives, following the death of some of their colleagues in quick succession. At the last count, the Green Chamber had lost four lawmakers since the beginning of the year.

The latest casualty was Hon. Suleiman Aliyu, who died Tuesday morning at the age of 52 years.

Aliyu, who represented Lere Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, passed on at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna State during a brief illness.

A number of lawmakers, who spoke with New Telegraph on the development yesterday, expressed sadness at the demise of Aliyu and those who left before him.

One of the lawmakers, who responded to our enquiries on the condition of anonymity, blamed the phenomenon of “sudden death” or “death after a brief illness” on a multiplicity of factors. He said that apart from nature and fate, some of these deaths may have health related complications.

According to him, some lawmakers do not take their routine medical checks seriously while others may have fallen prey to the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic.

A second lawmaker blamed some of the deaths on the undue pressure which these lawmakers were usually exposed to in the course of their service to their constituents. Born on April 26, 1968, Aliyu was an engineer before delving into politics and held an M.SCin Civil Engineering.

He had a tumultuous stay in the House since 2019 as he was earlier sacked from the parliament by the Kaduna State Election Tribunal, but later reinstated by the Supreme Court. Aliyu is the eleventh member of the lower chamber to die in the current assembly.

He will be buried on Tuesday evening in Lere, Kaduna state according to Islamic rites. Hon Maitala Haruna His death occurred a few days after another member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Maitala Haruna, representing Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency of Plateau state died. Haruna died in a road accident last Friday on his way to Jos from Abuja.

The lawmaker, who died alongside his son, driver and security aide, was heading to Jos to attend the wedding ceremony of one of his sons when the unfortunate incident occurred. Hon Yuguda Kila Hon. Yuguda Kila, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), died on March 4, 2021. He was said to have died at the National Hospital, Abuja at the age of 65 years.

Kila represented Gwaram Federal Constituency of Jigawa State in the lower chamber of the parliament. Hon Ossy Prestige The House had, earlier in the year lost Hon. Ossy Preatige, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who represented Abia North/Abia South Federal Constituency of Abia State.

Ossy died on Monday, February 8, 2021 after a protracted illness. Ossy, aged 56, was first elected to the House in 2015 and re-elected in 2019.

A native of Agboji community of Abriba in Ohafia, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Government and Public Administration from the Abia State University, Uturu. He also obtained an MBA in Shipping and Logistics from the Lloyds

Maritime Academy London, UK. Before venturing into politics, he was a seasoned Customs broker, maritime services provider, shipping consultant and importer of diverse merchandise. He was also widely known for his charity works. He was married with children. (New Telegraph)