My Dad Didn’t Die Of Sickness, Rather He Died Of Poverty, Ex-Senate President Joseph Wayas’ Son Says

The son of former Senate President Joseph Wayas has made a shocking revelation that his father didn’t die of sickness, instead he died of poverty.

Naija News reports that the former Senate leader’s first son, Joseph Wayas Jr told The Nation that if his father had received the kind of care and medical attention needed he might still be alive

Wayas Jr, even though showed a heart of gratitude to President Muhamudu Buhari, who facilitated his father’s trip to England and provided funds for him to have access to the best medical care, insisted his father’s life was cut short due to lack of finance.

He claimed that his father lived three years extra after he received treatment from England then, however, his health got worse when there were financial constraints.

He opined that if there was further assistance after the government stopped supporting, his father might not have died.

Wayas who expressed displeasure at the delay by the Committee set up by the Cross River State Government to organize his father’s funeral also appreciated the state governor, Ben Ayade for the efforts so far.

The former Senate President was reported to have died in December 2021 at age 80 and he is yet to be buried even though his son expressed optimism that the burial should hold within 30 to 40 days from now.

According to him, in the last three years before his father’s death, his sister in London bore the cost of his treatment and maintaining the corpse since 2021 after his death.

He said “My dad did not die of sickness. My dad died of poverty. We can give honour to Buhari because had Buhari not determined that my dad should go out for medical treatment immediately, he would have died sooner.

“Buhari and the Federal Government gave my dad money to go outside. For that reason he lived three years longer. It got to a point where the Federal Government said they cannot do anything anymore if the National Assembly cannot do something. If my father had received the kind of care that a man his age and personality should have received, Rt. Hon. Dr Wayas would still have been alive.

“He died because at the end of the day, there was no money to provide for hiis urgent care. The money Buhari had given him was supposed to last for three or four months treatment- not three years by the British doctors who gave a more up to date and critical assessment of his needs. Later, it became a big problem buying medication and seeing doctors.

“The bills were piling up and it was the bills that my sister and her children were responsible for. My dad and sister were thrown out of my sister’s house into the streets due to their debt obligation to the landlord. At the end of the day, my sister was able to get a little respite from the local government, yet the accommodation was far from being the best.

“It was a flea, cockroach, mildew infested environment. It was the kind of environment that made my father’s bad condition even worse. He kept visiting the hospitals, often staying days there, because of the conditions in the government provided accommodation where he was staying. So I make the point today that my dad did not die of sickness but he died of poverty.

“There were plenty of attempts by members of the National Assembly to intercede but the leadership of the National Assembly was not forthcoming. Even a letter written from the office of the Secretary to the Federal Government to the NASS leadership to take over from where it had stopped in caring for Wayas did not get a response.

“He did not need to die. What is going on now with the burial committee is a further betrayal. It is like pouring pepper on a wound, it is an insult after injury. Can you imagine his grandchildren’s payroll being garnished to offset the medical bills incurred on Dr. Wayas care, while some committee members are meanwhile benefiting from something that no one else not even his grandchildren can benefit from.”