Senate Loses Member as Senator Okey Ezea Passes On

Nigeria has lost one of its serving federal lawmakers, Senator Okey Ezea, who represented Enugu North Senatorial District in the 10th Senate. According to a statement issued by his family, the senator passed away at a private hospital in Lagos at about 11:07 p.m. on Tuesday, 18th November, 2025, after a brief illness.

Until his passing, Senator Ezea remained an active and influential voice in the 10th Senate. At the onset of the legislative session, he served as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, privileges and Public Petitions. He later held key leadership roles as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development. At the time of his death, he was the Vice Chairman of both the Senate Committee on Cooperation and Integration in Africa and NEPAD, and Senate Committee on Culture and Creative Economy.

Senator Ezea’s legislative footprint was marked by purposeful interventions. He sponsored the bill to establish the Federal College of Agriculture, Adani, and championed the bill for the creation of Adada State, a legacy bill he pursued with notable determination until illness slowed him down. He also moved several motions on the Senate floor, including a motion calling for the establishment of a military base in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State to stem persistent killings in the area by rampaging herdsmen.

Before contesting and winning the Enugu North Senate seat in 2023 under the Labour Party, Senator Ezea had been a founding member of the APC and played a significant role in establishing the party’s structure in Enugu State in 2013. He was a three-time governorship contender, having contested in 2007 and 2011 on the platform of the Labour Party, and again in 2015 under the APC, where he lost to the PDP’s Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. His victory in 2023, where he defeated then Governor Ugwuanyi, marked a defining chapter in his political journey.

Beyond elected office, Senator Ezea also held notable national appointments, including his tenure as Chairman of the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo, in Taraba State.

Until his death, he remained the only federal lawmaker from Enugu State elected on the Labour Party platform in 2023 who, on principle, resisted pressures to defect to the ruling party – standing firm even as seven House of Representatives members and the state’s other senator left the party.

Senator Okey Ezea is survived by his wife, Chioma, and their four children.