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Joseph Waku dies at 72, Buhari, Saraki pay tribute

Ismaila Sanni
Ismaila Sanni
Joseph Waku dies at 72, Buhari, Saraki pay tribute
Joseph Waku

The senator representing Benue North West Senatorial District between 1999 and 2003, Joseph Waku, is dead.

He died at the age of 72 at the National Hospital, Abuja, on Sunday.

Very vocal, the former legislator was from Gumi local government of Benue State.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, have expressed sadness over Waku’s death.

The president recalled Waku’s contributions to the growth of education when he served as Pro-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure.

He urged the children, friends and political associates of the late elder statesman to keep alive his commitment to the unity, peace and stability of not only Benue State, but also the entire country.

 

The president prayed Almighty God to comfort the family and all those who mourned the septuagenarian and grant his soul eternal rest.

In the same vein, Saraki described Waku as the voice for the voiceless in Nigeria.

Expressing his condolence over the death of Waku, Saraki, in a statement issued by his media aide, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said: “Senator Waku was a democrat and social activist. He cared so much about his people. He spoke truth to power not minding political correctness. He worked assiduously for the upliftment of his state in particular and Nigeria in general.

He said his leadership role in the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), marked him out as a consummate politician with the welfare of his country at heart.

According to him, as a senator, he contributed immensely to the nation’s legislative development.

His incisive interventions, he said, bore testimony to his rich experience, intellectual depth and urbane personality.

“He was a voice to the voiceless. We shall miss him dearly,” Saraki stated.

The Senate President also commiserated with the immediate family of the deceased and the Government and people of Benue State over the sad and irreparable loss.

He prayed God to grant the soul of Senator Waku eternal peace and his loved ones the fortitude to bear the loss.

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