Wayas Jr blamed the funeral committee for the delay of his late dad’s burial more than a year after his death.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Former Senate President Joseph Wayas, who was head of the Senate in the Second Republic between 1979 and 1983, has not been buried 14 months after his death.
Wayas died in a London hospital in December 2021. He was aged 80.
Immediately after his death, Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade, inaugurated a funeral committee to plan for his burial.
A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi, was appointed head of the committee.
But family sources told DailyTrust that funds are not available to bury Wayas more than a year after his death.
The newspaper gathered that a former executive secretary of the National Planning Commission, Ntufam Ugbo, was no longer part of the committee.
While affirming Ayade had made funds available for the funeral, he disclosed the first son of the late Senate President, Joseph Wayas Jr, had a better explanation for the delay.
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He said, “He cannot say he does not have an explanation to give on why the funeral is delayed. He is the first son, so he should be in charge.”
Ayade’s Chief Media Adviser, Christian Ita, disclosed that the governor had released funds for the burial.
“I don’t want to get involved in the matter. Perhaps, the first son is the problem but speak to members of the funeral committee. The governor actually released money for the burial months ago,” Ita told the newspaper.
However, in response, Wayas Jr blamed the funeral committee for the delay of his late dad’s burial more than a year after his death.
He said he had little role to play since the committee was set to plan for the funeral.
“The funeral is not exactly in our hands but that of the funeral committee. I hear there are issues surrounding the funeral funds. And some members are said to have resigned. I cannot go back to the state governor or Federal Government now due to election issues. The governor has done well already,” he said.