Senate adjourns plenary to mourn late Senator Osinowo

The Senate held a brief plenary on Tuesday and adjourned to Wednesday to honour the death of Senator Adebayo Sikiru Osinowo.

The lawmaker died in Lagos on June 15, 2020, following a brief illness at the age of 64.

• Lagos hints Senator Osinowo dies of coronavirus
• Senator Osinowo’s death should not deter us in defeating COVID-19, says Sanwo-Olu

Senator Osinowo’s death was the fourth the ninth Senate had recorded in the last one year.

The two chambers of the 9th National Assembly had lost six members since its inauguration in June 2019.

The other late members of the ninth Senate are; Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo North), Ignatius Longjan (Plateau South), and Dr Rose Okoji Oko (Cross River North).

In the House of Representatives, they are; Jafaru Illiyasu Auna, who represented Rijau/Magama Federal Constituency of Niger State and Dr Muhammadu Adamu Fagen-Gawo, who represented Garki/Babura Federal constituency in Jigawa State.

15 Senators had died since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.

Senator Osinowo, until his death, represented Lagos East Senatorial District.

He served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on industries.

Osinowo first made his mark at the Lagos Civil Service and also at the Lagos State House of Assembly where he served four terms before his election to the Senate.

One of his most remarkable moments in the Senate was when he, during plenary, stressed the need for humans to constantly thank the Almighty God for the gift of life and the inevitability of death.

“God did not sign any agreement when he created us.

“He created us without notice and will take us [our souls] away without notice.

“My dear colleagues, we must continue to thank God.

“Many never witness their first birthday.

“Which of the blessings of the Lord are we going to deny?

‘Death is inevitable, we must prepare [for death].

‘Let our righteous, good deeds be more than our bad [actions],” the late lawmaker had said.

Tuesday’s plenary was adjourned after a motion by the Senate Leader, Abdullahi Yahaya, who officially announced Osinowo’s death.

He asked his colleagues to observe a minute of silence in honour of the late Senator and moved a motion for the adjournment of legislative activities till Wednesday.

Yahaya’s motion was seconded by the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe.

The senators, after the minute silence, adjourned the plenary till Wednesday after a voice vote.

Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, who presided over the plenary, said a valedictory session will be held in honour of late Osinowo.

Omo-Agege hailed him as a nationalist whose contributions were very impactful on Nigerians.

“We pray that his soul will rest in perfect peace.

“But more important, we pray that the Almighty God make this the last time I will have to face you to give this kind of statement because we have had too many deaths and we don’t want that any more,” he said.