Reps, others pay tribute to ex- speaker, late Anakwe

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The House of Representatives, yesterday, held a valedictory session, in honour of Third Republic speaker of the House, late Chief Agunwa Anakwe, who passed on recently.

The speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, while speaking at the valedictory session, which was attended by serving and former senators, as well as former members of the House, described the deceased former speaker as a man with impeccable character.

Abbas noted that the late Agunwa, who served as speaker between December 7, 1992 to November 17, 1993, “exemplified a standard of parliamentary conduct that combined discipline, fairness, and clarity of purpose.”

He said the late former speaker, during his tenure, guided the parliament with clarity of purpose and was “attentive” to his constituents.

“He approached the Speakership not as a platform for personal elevation, but as a constitutional trust. Under his leadership, the House maintained coherence in the face of political uncertainty. He upheld the sanctity of this House and demonstrated that even in turbulent periods, legislative order can be preserved through restraint and conviction,” the speaker stated.

On his part, Senate Whip, Senator Tahir Monguno, who was late Agunwa’s colleague in the House, said the deceased former speaker stood up to the military, when the latter attempted to curtail the power of the parliament. Monguno, who also represented the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at the valedictory session, said “the late Honourable Agunwa Anakwe, as Speaker, not only preached the gospel of democracy, but championed it by leading the House to reject an obnoxious and draconian decree that sought to cripple legislative independence.”

Former Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige, in his tribute, described the deceased as a fearless and steadfast democrat, and called on the National Assembly to immortalise him.

Ngige said, “Mr. Speaker, the loss of Agunwa Anakwe is a very big loss to the development of democracy in Nigeria. Agunwa is a fearless fighter in whatever course he believes in. That is what endeared him to us in our area.

“Agunwa has always been a progressive. He was not a man of controversy. Even when he was speaker of the House of Representatives, he had good Sydney with our then governor, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife. He was a man who was steady. You don’t doubt where he was at any time.

“Whilst we ask the Federal Government to name a national monument after this speaker, we also ask the national Assembly to name a structure here after Chief Agunwa.”

Similarly, the deputy speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who spoke, on behalf of the members of the House, said the late Agunwa helped to shape the moral compass of parliamentary leadership in the country.

“At just thirty-six years old, he assumed the Speakership in December 1992, during the Third Republic, and carried the weight of a young democracy on his shoulders. He led with a calm sense of duty, and when military intervention disrupted the constitutional order in November 1993, he faced that moment with composure.

“His response reflected a profound belief that while power may be transient, principle must be permanent. This fidelity to democratic ideals defined his public life and earned him the respect of colleagues and country alike,” Kalu stated.