Franca Afegbua, the only female senator in the Second Republic, has died, according to her family in Edo State.
The following is an excerpt from the statement released by the family yesterday: “The Afegbua family of Edo State has confirmed 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.”
In the Second Republic, Afegbua won the election as a senator for Bendel North in October 1983 on the now-defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) platform.
She was born in Okpella, a town in the Etsako East Local Government Area of the old Bendel State, now divided into Edo and Delta states.
The military took over the government in December 1983, less than three months after she took office. This ended her political career.
