…As incoming First Lady Oluremi Tinubu mourns
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–Pix(above): Sen Franca Afegbua
Nigeria’s first female Senator, Franca Afegbua, is dead. She died at age 79.
According to a family source, Afegbua died on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Confirming the demise, the family said: “The Afegbua Family of Edo State hereby confirms the demise of the first woman senator in Nigeria, Senator Franca Afegbua, whose sad event occurred this morning, Sunday, March 12, 2023.
“She combined beauty and brain during her service to Nigeria. Funeral details will be announced by the family soon,” the family said.
From running a premium salon in Lagos, winning an international hairdressing competition in London, Afegbua made history when she contested and won the Bendel-North Senatorial District seat in the 1983 elections.
She contested on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) against the incumbent at the time, a seasoned politician from the opposition Unity Party of Nigeria in control of old Bendel State (present-day Edo and Delta States).
…As incoming First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu mourns
Meanwhile, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the wife of the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has expressed sadness over the death of the first elected female Senator, Franca Afegbua, saying her contributions to Nigeria and the womenfolk will never go unnoticed nor be forgotten.
She described Senator Afegbua who died on Sunday at 79 in her Benin-City home in Edo State as a trailblazer and quintessential lawmaker who led the way in showing that women can participate in politics and make meaningful impacts.
In a statement she personally signed, Senator Tinubu said: “I received with shock the news of the demise of Chief Franca Afegbua, Nigeria’s first elected female Senator.
“Senator Afegbua made history in October 1983 when she was elected to the Senate to represent the people of Bendel North on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), defeating John Umolu of the Unity Party of Nigeria, the then ruling party in the defunct Bendel State.
“May her gentle soul rest in the bosom of the Almighty God,” Tinubu prayed./SHARE THIS
- Tags: Franca Afegbua, Oluremi Tinubu, The Senate
