The lawmakers had upon resumption of plenary on Tuesday after a two-week Easter break, adjourned in honour of the deceased and slated Wednesday for tributes.
Members of House of Representatives on Wednesday took turns to extol the virtues and legacies of their late colleague, Hon. Buba Jibril.
The lawmakers had upon resumption of plenary on Tuesday after a two-week Easter break, adjourned in honour of the deceased and slated Wednesday for tributes.
Jibril, who was Deputy Majority Leader of the house and represented Lokoja/KotonKarfi Constituency of Kogi, died on March 30, 2018 after a brief illness.
The deceased was before his elevation to the House of Representatives, a member of Kogi House of Assembly, where he served as Speaker.
In a valedictory in his honour, Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, described Jibril as a man of relentless vision.
Dogara said: “He was a man of relentless vision. His passion and courage drove him to adopt principled position on issues.
“One area he stood his ground was on the Bill on NGOs, which he sponsored. I had appealed to him to reconsider his position on the Bill in view of the appeals from diverse organisations.”
He decried the gale of deaths in the 8th Assembly, and prayed God to intervene.
He said: “It is unfortunate that in this particular Assembly, we have had to bury a lot of members.
“It has never happened in the history of legislature in Nigeria. It is our sincere prayers that God will stay the hands of death upon this institution.
“But as it is, these are wonderful people, exceptional legislators from the tributes that flooded the House and I believe on the floor of the Senate as well.
“You can attest to the fact that these are impactful individuals who impacted the lives of their constituents.”
The Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, and the Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, praised the contributions of Jibril.
According to Gbajabiamila, the seat occupied by Jubril will remain empty even though it might be reoccupied in the nearest future.
He said: “Today we gather to say goodbye. I have heard a lot of anecdotes this afternoon. We are celebrating and mourning a legislator for the people and by the people.”
Hon. Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje described the deceased as “a humble man, a leader whom I learnt so much from and will be missed’’.
Also, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas said the deceased was a patriotic lawmaker whom he learnt so much from.
Namdas said: “I was always going to him to seek advice and he usually gave me the support I needed
Similarly, Hon. Aliyu Madaki stated that Jibril was knowledgeable and full of wisdom.
He recalled how the late lawmaker appealed to him to sheath his sword and support Dogara after his emergence as Speaker in 2015.
