Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District, Barinada Mpigi, who represented Rivers South-East has passed on.
He was aged 64.
The lawmaker, who chaired the Senate Committee on Works, reportedly passed away on Thursday after a brief illness.
As of press time, the exact cause and location of his death had not been officially confirmed, although family members said relatives are mourning his loss.
According to reports, the senator had been flown abroad for brain surgery after being diagnosed with a brain tumour, but the report could not be independently verified.
Until his passing, Mpigi was considered a close ally of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
He hailed from Tai Local Government Area within the Ogoni ethnic nationality of Rivers State and previously served two terms in the House of Representatives, representing the Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo Federal Constituency.
Mpigi was a member of both the 9th and 10th Senates and remained in office until his death.
A source who confirmed the development, speaking anonymously, described the news as shocking.
“We are shocked over this news. I am short of words. I don’t know what to say. We are in pain,” the source said.
Mpigi was first elected into the National Assembly in 2011, representing the Eleme/Tai/Oyigbo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He was later elected to the Senate in 2019 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where he remained a member of the opposition until his death.
With his passing, Mpigi becomes the fourth senator to die since the inauguration of the 10th Senate in June 2023. Ifeanyi Ubah (Anambra South) died in July 2024; Okey Ezea (Enugu North) passed away in November 2025; and Godiya Akwashiki (Nasarawa North) died in December 2025.