Reps mourn late Sen. Wakili

The House of Representatives on Tuesday, adjourned plenary to Wednesday in honour of Sen. Ali Wakili, who died on Saturday at 58.

Members of the House called for sober reflections as they paid tributes to the late senator, who had been buried according to Islamic rites.

Speaker of the house, Mr Yakubu Dogara, who opened the tributes, said “it is with heavy heart and great sadness that I announce the death of my senator and constituent, Distinguished Senator Ali Wakili.

“He will be sorely missed by his immediate family, his relatives, friends, admirers on social media, constituents and by all of us, members of the National Assembly, most especially his immediate colleagues at the Senate.

“Not to mention very large numbers of people he personally touched across Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, Bauchi, Nigeria and around the world.

“We offer our sincere condolences to his immediate family, his constituents, the Bauchi Emirate Council, the Government and people of Bauchi and the Nigeria Senate.”

In his remarks, Rep. Adamu Chika (Niger -APC), who described the late senator as an “epitome of humility’’, said that he was friendly and generous.

Rep. Olajide Jimoh (Lagos-APC) called for sober reflection, adding that besides mourning the deceased, members should be conscious of the fact that one day “we will leave the world’’.

Similarly, Rep. Muhammed Abdu (Bauchi -APC) described Wakili’s demise as painful because he personally witnessed his death.

Also, Rep. Aisha Dukku (Gombe-APC) also called for remembrance of life after death and urged members to strive to leave a legacy that people would remember them for good.