Nigeria Labour Congress on Wednesday mourned the death of a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba.

The late lawmaker, born on September 27, 1958, died in Abuja Wednesday morning.

According to family sources, the former Speaker of the lower house battled with an ailment for a long time before passing away.

The congress in a statement signed by its National President, Joe Ajaero, said Na’Abba will be remembered for his principled stance on national issues, asserting the independence of the Legislature, building strong institutions and championing the cause and course of our nascent democracy at great a cost to his person and office.

This was just as it noted that the late lawmaker will be remembered for his role in truncating the third-term agenda of individuals it described as “formidable anti-democratic forces.”

The statement read, “In particular, Na’Abba will be remembered for his heroic role in thwarting the third-term agenda of the then formidable anti-democratic forces.

“He paid dearly for his role and was not allowed to return to the parliament ever since but he lost nothing of his national status or relevance.

“But beyond thwarting the third term agenda, Na’Abba is on record to have repeatedly held the executive accountable for their actions almost culminating in the impeachment of the President.

“We at the Congress mourn this fine gentleman, principled politician and one of the greatest heroes of our democracy. Our condolences go to his family, his political associates and the leadership of the National Assembly.”

Na’Abba joined the Peoples Democratic Party, and became the party’s candidate for Kano Municipal Federal Constituency, a position he won during the April 1999 general elections.

He subsequently emerged as Speaker of the House of Representatives after the political crisis that led to the exit of the first Speaker of the Fourth Republic, Salisu Buhari.

Punch