Ezea stayed true to Labour Party till death — Nenadi Usman

The Interim National Chairman of Labour Party, Sen. Nenadi Usman, has described the late Sen. Okey Ezea as a principled politician whose loyalty to the party and devotion remained unshaken till his death.

Usman made the remark in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja.

She recounted how Ezea, despite battling severe health challenges and being placed in intensive care, remained actively involved in party affairs barely hours before his death on Nov. 18, 2025.

Our correspondent reports that Ezea, representing Enugu North Senatorial District, passed away in Lagos after a brief illness.

Usman said that the late senator played a decisive role in resolving an internal zoning issue during the re-organisation of the party’s Interim National Working Committee on Nov. 17, 2025.

She added that the party leadership consulted Ezea as the highest-ranking party member from Enugu State, as a result of which the position was zoned to the state.

“Even from his hospital bed, the late senator communicated his preference clearly, a decision the party later treated as a “dying declaration” and honoured by appointing an Enugu indigene as National Vice-Chairman, South East.

“I was deeply moved by Ezea’s commitment; he stood tall in defence of Enugu State even as death beckoned,” she said.

Usman stated that his consistency set him apart at a time when many elected on the platform of the party defected to other political parties.

“Until his death, Ezea was the only Labour Party member in the National Assembly from Enugu State who remained loyal to the party on whose platform he was elected.

“Ezea’s relationship with the Labour Party predated the 2023 elections, having contested as the party’s governorship candidate in Enugu State in 2007,” she said.

Usman, therefore, called on Nigerians to honour his legacy, while also urging politicians and supporters of progressive ideals to emulate his steadfastness, loyalty and service to the people.

She described those virtues as the most fitting way to immortalise the late lawmaker.