MRS ASIBI SEIDU LAID TO REST (PAGE 16)

THE mortal remains of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chereponi, Mrs Doris Asibi Seidu, were interred on the compound of her family house at Chereponi last Monday.
The solemn ceremony attracted a large number of sympathisers from far and near, including various political party representatives who came to pay their last respects to the former MP, whom most of them described as selfless, hard-working, generous and development-oriented.
Also present were her colleague MPs who were led by the Majority Leader, Mr Alban Sumani Bagbin. The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Steven Nayina, led the government delegation. An entourage of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), including the presidential candidate of the party in the last general election, Nana Akufo Addo, also graced the occasion.
Mr Nayina had earlier handed over the remains of the late MP to the family and presented GH¢1,000 and assorted drinks on behalf of the government.
Among those who paid tribute to the former MP were the regional minister, the majority and minority leaders of Parliament, Messrs Alban Bagbin and Osei Kyei Mensah, respectively.
They all commended her diligence and hard work, and described her as someone who served her people well in her duties as a legislature.
Earlier in an interaction with newsmen in Tamale where the mortal remains of Mrs Seidu were flown in from Accra, Mr Bagbin said the death of the Chereponi MP, coupled with the recent demise of the late MP for Jirapa, Mr Edward Salia, indicated that the stress of work was gradually taking a toll on the legislators.
He, therefore, suggested that the institution of Parliament should be strengthened with the provision of enough logistics and human resource to help reduce the pressure of work on the legislators.
The 40-year-old former MP died on August 1, this year, at the cardiothoracic centre at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra after a protracted illness. She is survived by a husband and a daughter.
Mrs Seidu who was born in Accra in 1969, obtained her Middle School Leaving Certificate (MSLC) in 1985 and proceeded to the Bimbilla Training College where she attained her teachers’ certificate ‘A’.
She won her parliamentary seat on the ticket of the NPP in 2004 and served on the Education and Mines and Energy committees. The late MP retained her seat in the 2008 general election by polling 9,188 out of the 17,559 valid votes cast, representing 53 per cent.
Mrs Seidu, who was also a social worker, was credited with a lot of development initiatives in the Chereponi District, which she helped create out of the then Saboba/Chereoni District.
She is also said to have contributed tremendously in the establishment of a day care and a vocational centre, as well as the extension of electricity to the district.