Deji Elumoye in Abuja
Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, has described Senator Ignatius Longjang, who died on Sunday in Abuja as a legislator who was committed to the Nigerian project.
Lawan, who spoke yesterday at the late Senator’s residence in Abuja during a condolence visit, stressed that Longjang was a peaceful man and a bridge builder committed to the Nigerian project.
“The late Senator Longjang was a peacemaker; a very peaceful person. He proved himself to be a very faithful and loyal person. He was committed to the ideals of the Senate. He built bridges. He wanted to ensure that everything went on well. And as one of our elders in the Senate, he was highly regarded and respected. This loss is a loss to all of us”.
The Senate President further said “our late colleague is someone who believed that as a people, we must live in peace and a very peaceful man.
“And having served as a deputy governor once and coming to the Senate after his ambassadorial tours, he was an accomplished leader in his own right but what always endeared him to me was his sense of commitment to the Nigerian project.
“We know from time to time; we have disagreement across the country but he would always preach that we must live in peace. We must create understanding. Let there be fairness, equity and justice in all part of the country. He lived and died for that.
“For us in the Senate, this is one lesson, one take away we have to ensure that we stick with. That whatever we do as a Senate and indeed as a National Assembly, we should do so to ensure that every citizen is protected; gets fairness, equity and justice and at the end of the day, just like he wished, this country must prosper,” Lawan said.
He assured the family members that the upper legislative chamber will be with them during this period of grief.
“We are going to be together. We are going to have the two Senators from Plateau working with the family very closely so that we can participate and support the arrangement for his interment,”
Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege; Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi; Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Sabi Abdullahi; and Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Philip Aduda were the principal officers who accompanied the Senate President on the condolence visit.
