Shock As 2 NASS Journalists Die Within 24 Hours, Speaker Abbas, Deputy Mourn

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has expressed grief over the death of Mr. Elijah Olaluyi, a New Telegraph photojournalist covering the activities of the House.

Speaker Abbas, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, also mourned the death of a reporter with Liberty Radio and Television, Mohammed Adamu, who covered the Senate.

Olaluyi died on Thursday evening, while Adamu, an experienced reporter, died in the early hours of Wednesday.

The Speaker, while condoling the families of Olaluyi and Adamu, extended his condolences to the media outfits they represented and the House and Senate Press Corps over the passing away of their members.

“These were veteran media men who covered the National Assembly for years and had institutional memories of people and events at the federal parliament.

“They will be greatly missed. My heart is with their families and the Press Corps at the moment of grief,” Speaker Abbas said.

The Speaker prayed for the repose of their souls and the fortitude to bear the loss by their respective families.

Similarly, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu expressed sadness over the sadden demise of Olaluyi, a photojournalist with the New Telegraph Newspapers.

Kalu, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, extended his condolences to Olaluyi’s family, the publishers of New Telegraph, the House of Representatives Press Corps (HoRPC) and the entire membership of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) where the deceased belonged to as a member.

The Deputy Speaker recalled that Olaluyi practised his career with utmost decency, displaying unassailable photographic skills, guided by the fine ethos and ethics of journalism profession.

He said Olaluyi, having covered the parliament for many years had acquired institutional memory while documenting the House proceedings pictorially.

The Deputy Speaker also commiserated with the Senate Press Corps over the death of Malam Mohammed Adamu, a reporter with Liberty Radio and Television, who passed on early hours of Wednesday.

While praying God to give the families and the people who knew them the fortitude to bear these irreparable losses, Kalu also asked for the repose of the souls of the departed.