We can reliably disclose that 14 months after the death of former Senate President, the Cross River State born Joseph Wayas, his family, friends and the Cross River State Government, appear to have been unable to reach an agreement on when to bury the remains of the late politician and elder statesman.
Independent investigations by www.calitown.com show that shortly after Wayas passed on in a London hospital on November 30, 2021, the state government promptly put together a well picked burial committee of elder statesmen and technocrats to oversee burial plans that will befit the national status of the deceased.
“The governor had released about 200m to the committee for the burial and from what I hear Wayas Jnr (the son of the deceased) presented a bill of 100 thousand UK pounds as what the family has spent on their dad’s medical bill and asked the committee to give him the money. The committee refused, saying 100 thousand pounds is equivalent to 100m Naira. The committee then insisted to the man’s son that it will nominate a committee member and one medical doctor, to join him to the hospital in London where the man’s remains are kept so as to conclude arrangements and bring the body to Nigeria for burial. Jnr reportedly refused”, a competent government source exclusively told www.calitown.com.
We were further told that, “after much pressure, Jnr reportedly said he will fly down the remains himself and that even during laying in state, the casket must not be opened. The committee rejected his proposal, wondering how such a dignitary will be buried without anyone viewing his remains. So the committee is suspicious that may be Jnr and his sister may have buried their father in London without anyone’s knowledge and where now after the money released by the governor. As you know I am not a member of the burial committee and as such cannot be speaking for them, but what I have just told you is not just what I know, but the truth of this matter.”
Sometime ago, the Cross River State Government sent former Health Commissioner, Betta Edu, to London with funds for the ailing Wayas as well as to conduct an on the spot assessment of him to enable government have more than a fair knowledge of what further help can be rendered. Edu was roundly criticized for going to London and taking pictures with a very unconscious Wayas lying critically ill on his hospital bed. The outcome of her visit and whatever recommendations were made, were never made public.
While there is widespread talk that Wayas has not been buried because of disagreements between the committee and his first son, several attempts by www.calitown.com to speak with Wayas Jnr, were unsuccessful in the course of this investigation. Some notable members of the burial committee confided in us that out of respect for the late Senate President, they will be unwilling to comment on the issues beyond the inability to bury Wayas.
Wayas was Nigeria’s Senate President during the Second Republic (1979–1983). When General Muhammadu Buhari staged a coup on New Year’s Eve 1983, he went into exile, returning in 1987 and was held in political detention for one year. He passed away at the age of 80.
