The body of the former president of the Senate, Dr Joseph Wayas, who died on November 30, 2021, would be buried on November 30, three years after his demise.
This was announced by Dr Dorn-Cklaimz Enamhe, Secretary of the Central Planning Committee for Wayas’ burial, during a press briefing in Calabar on Thursday.
News Agency of Nigeria reports that Wayas, who died at the age of 80 in a London hospital, was returned to Nigeria on July 10, 2024, after spending more than two years in a UK morgue.
Enamhe, who appreciated Governor Bassey Otu and some individuals for repatriating the body of Wayas, called on all those who admired him to join in honouring him.
Enamhe expressed gratitude to Governor Bassey Otu and others for repatriating Wayas’ body, urging admirers to join in honouring him.
He noted that Governor Otu has pledged that no Cross River elder statesman who dies abroad will be left in a foreign land; their remains will be brought home.
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The secretary of the committee said the committee had to work with various authorities in Nigeria and the Nigerian High Commission in the UK to ascertain the authenticity of the body.
“When we brought the body back, his wife and children assessed it critically and confirmed that it was their father, so, as I speak to you the body is that of the former president of the senate.
“Unfortunately the body has been kept this long due to issues and disagreement among members of his family.
“We had to wait for these issues to be resolved and as of today, they have been resolved, that is why we are going ahead with the burial,” he said.
He also appreciated the media for constantly reminding the whole nation that the body of the former president of the Senate was yet to be buried.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Cross River, Nsa Gil, said the funeral would be held at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar and later in the deceased’s hometown in Bassang, Obanliku Local Government of Cross River.
Dignitaries, including current Senate President Godswill Akpabio, are expected to attend.
Born in 1941 in Obanliku, Wayas served as Senate President during Nigeria’s Second Republic from 1979 to 1983.
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