The former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Tonye Harry, died mid air yesterday while being flown abroad in an air ambulance. Harry, who represented Degema Constituency in the House of Assembly, was a two-term Deputy Speaker and Speaker of the Assembly.
He died mid air to France where he was being flown for medical treatment. According to an eye witness report, Harry slumped at the elite Port Harcourt Club on Monday after a game of Tennis with some friends and he was immediately rushed to a private clinic in Port Harcourt where he was said to have been stabilized. However, His condition became critical in the following days and Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, directed that he should be flown abroad for further treatment.
“He had a game of Tennis with his friends and he was in a jovial mood throughout the game. He didn’t give any indication of being under stress or exhaustion. However, some minutes after he entered the changing room, he slumped and the people around rushed him to a private hospital after calling his wife and the state Governor,’’ the witness said.
Before Harry’s demise, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Sampson Parker, had given hope that he will be fit again, when he informed journalists on Wednesday that the former Speaker’s condition was stable and that the deceased could be flown to France for further treatment. A family source confirmed to Saturday Mirror that the former speaker died mid air en route France. Late Harry was a Deputy Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2007.
He worked directly under Governor Amaechi who was the Assembly Speaker within that period. He was elected Speaker during the six months administration of Celestine Omehia. Harry was acting Governor for 24 hours when the Supreme Court sacked Omehia in 2007. He was the Speaker of the House between 2007 and 2011. He was, however, removed as Speaker at the inception of Governor Amaechi’s second term in office.
A source within the House of Assembly, who would not want to be named, confirmed his death but declined to react officially to his demise. He added that the house will have to wait for his family’s statement before issuing its own.
“We are waiting for the family’s statement before our own official reaction,” he said. Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Leyii Kwanee, has confirmed the death of his predecessor in office. Kwanee, who is on an official trip to the United States, while mourning Harry’s death, advised politicians to be wary of their commitment to the ruled and make the best use of every opportunity they have to serve their people in the course of their lives.
“I am in the US to attend a conference scheduled for this weekend. As it is now, I will cut short my trip. I have been communicating with my colleagues in Nigeria over this sad news. It is painful that we (State House of Assembly) had to lose Hon. Tonye Harry at this period of our democracy. It is a lesson to politicians to know that life is short and for them to make the best use of any opportunity they have to serve the people.
My heart goes out to the family of Hon. Harry. It is a very sad development for us in the House of Assembly.” A statement from the Rivers State Government house has said that Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has received with shock and disbelief the death of the Former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry.
Describing Harry’s death as deeply shocking and traumatic for him, Governor Amaechi recalled with nostalgia and fond memories the life and times of Tonye Harry. “I am still traumatised by the sad news of the death of Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry. I still find it impossible to come to terms with the fact that Tonye is no more. I was with him, by his hospital bed shortly after he fell ill and everyone was very hopeful that he was going to come out of the health crisis, stronger and better.
Sadly, he couldn’t make it but God knows best. “Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry will be dearly missed. He was a thorough and distinguished legislator, an astute politician who believed that politics and public office should be about service to the people. Over the years, he worked very hard and diligently to make Rivers State a better place. His contributions to the legislative development of the State were indeed enormous.
Over the years, we worked together, very closely; he was a friend and brother that will be dearly missed. He has left a vacuum that will be very difficult to fill.
Source: National Mirror
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