DIMAPUR: Nine-time MLA and senior most serving member in the Nagaland assembly Noke Wangnao passed away at the Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research at Chumoukedima on Monday (August 28) morning.
He was 87.
The Nagaland government accorded him a state funeral at his residence at Half Nagarjan in Dimapur in the afternoon.
Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio, deputy chief minister Y Patton, a host of other ministers, MLAs, among others, paid their last respects to the departed leader at the funeral service.
Wangnao began his political career in 1974 and was elected to the state assembly from Tapi assembly constituency in Mon district of Nagaland nine times.
A staunch regionalist, he won the February 2023 assembly elections on ruling Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) ticket and was serving as adviser to the social welfare department.
Condoling his death, governor La Ganesan described Wangnao as a veteran political stalwart, an able and dynamic leader who was committed to the welfare and uplift of people.
His contribution as a true statesman to the people of Nagaland will be remembered for years to come, Ganesan said.
Paying his last respects to Wangnao at the state funeral, Nagaland CM Rio said his sacrifices and contributions to Nagaland and its citizens will be recorded in history for generations to come.
“As we mourn an irreplaceable loss today, let’s also remember the enduring contributions he made,” Nagaland deputy CM Patton said while paying his last respects.
Expressing his grief, Nagaland deputy chief minister TR Zeliang said Wangnao was a man of few words and filled with the virtue of humility. His demise is a huge loss for the people of the state, Zeliang said.
In his condolence message, NDPP president Chingwang Konyak said Wangnao never wavered in his commitment to the regional party and he never joined any national party during his long political career but remained a regionalist till his last breath.
In his demise, not just the NDPP, but the state as a whole has lost an octogenarian whose vault of wisdom and experience will not be easily replaced and his presence will truly be missed, the NDPP said.