Ned Nwoko, a Delta north senator, claims he was meant to join the tourists who died during an undersea journey to visit the Titanic disaster.
Nwoko made the remarks in an Instagram post on Friday, while mourning Hamish Harding, a British businessman and friend who was one of the five passengers aboard Titan, the missing submarine.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) stated that the passengers killed as a result of a “catastrophic implosion” when Titanic debris was discovered near the Titanic four days after it went missing.
Nwoko expressed his heartbreak at the loss, describing Harding as a man who enjoyed travels and challenges.
The senator said he and the deceased businessman had gone on a few exploits together and were meant to go and see the Titanic wreck via the Titan but he opted out owing to national duties.
“We both went on a very dangerous expedition to the Southpole Antarctica a few years back. He was a gulf stream pilot who flew across the world in a record-breaking expedition by Guinness world record for circumnavigation of the earth some years ago,” Nwoko said.
“He descended into the Mariana. He also invited me on his space shuttle last year and this very Titan ill-fated adventure but I was tied down with national duties.