Senator Barinada Mpigi, the chairman of the Senate committee on works, has died aged 64 after a brief illness. His death was announced on Thursday during the budget defence session of the Senate Committee on Culture, Arts and Creative Economy by its chairman, Ogwoshi Onawo.
The senator who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the current senate had been sick for a while, with Rufai Hanga, deputy chairman of works, presiding over the committee meetings, including budget defence sessions.
Mpigi was widely regarded as an influential political figure in Rivers State, known for his strong grassroots network and consistent engagement with his constituents. Before his death, he was among the senators from Rivers State who defected from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Mpigi began his legislative career in the House of Representatives, where he was first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2016. He later moved to the Senate in 2019 after winning an election to represent Rivers South-East on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
During the 9th Assembly, he was appointed chairman of a joint Senate committee set up to investigate crude oil theft in the Niger Delta region — a critical assignment at a time when the country grappled with declining oil revenues and widespread pipeline vandalism.
