First female Senator in Nigeria, Sen. Franca Afegbua, has died at the age of 81, after battling with an unknown illness in a private hospital in Benin City, in the past few months.
One of her nephews, Kassim Afegbua, confirmed her death, stating that she died on Sunday 12th March, 2023 and her body has been deposited at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
The late Franca, was born in 1942 and was elected as senator in 1983 on the platform of the defunct National Party of Nigeria, NPN where she represented the then Bendel North Senatorial District.
She served in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly from October to December 1983, until the military coup, which brought the end of the second republic on 31st December, 1983.
Story: Elizabeth Ereke