Farewell to the first female senator in Nigeria; Franca Afegbua dies at 81
At a point in Nigeria, the political scope was dominated by men, although it still is, but there’s been a significant number of women occupying strategic positions.
Senator Franca Afegbua was one of the people who initiated and brought the belief that women can also take part and play an important role in politics.
Franca Afegbua was born on the 20th of October 1942, and she died yesterday, 12th of March 2023.
She was a Nigerian beautician and politician who represented Bendel North in the Nigerian Senate in 1983.
She was elected under the platform of National Party of Nigeria (NPN) senator, and she held the honour as the first elected woman senator in Nigeria.
Sen. Franca Afegbua was confirmed dead at the age of 81.
She died in Benin City after battling an undisclosed illness for the last few months.
Kassim Afegbua, one of her younger nephews who is a journalist, confirmed her death. He served as a Commissioner for information in the Adams Oshiomhole administration in Edo State and is currently a member of the Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council.
Kassim said that her aunty died yesterday morning and that her body had been deposited at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) mortuary.
Franca Afegbua was born in 1942 and elected senator in 1983 on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN). She represented the then Bendel North Senatorial District.
She served in the upper chamber of the National Assembly from October to December 1983, before the Buhari military coup brought the second republic to an end on December 31, 1983.
