Lalong Vs Tallen: Senator’s Death Opens New Political Permutations On The Plateau

By Emmanuel Aziken

The death of the elderly senator representing Plateau South Senatorial District, Senator Ignatius Longjan on Monday morning has opened up political permutations and fresh power play on the plateau.

At contention is the 2023 Senate contest which was being envisaged as a showdown between Governor Simon Lalong and the minister of women affairs, Mrs. Paullen Tallen.

Mrs. Tallen had sought the APC Senate ticket ahead of 2019 but was seriously rebuffed by the Lalong camp which pushed the 75-year-old former deputy governor of the state to win the APC ticket.

The interest of the governor behind Longjan was reportedly to keep the seat till 2023 when the governor would have finished his second term for him to advance to the Senate.

The governor’s support for Longjan against Tallen caused a serious rift with the Tallen camp leading to what some alleged as a sour feeling within the Lalong camp when Mrs. Tallen emerged as a minister without the governor’s recommendation.

Mrs. Tallen’s ministerial appointment was, however, largely attributed to Mrs. Aisha Buhari given that she was known to be embedded in the inner caucus of the First Lady.

The governor, however, helped to bury insinuations of bad blood between him and Tallen when he made a bold appearance at her inauguration party in Abuja last August. Both minister and governor on the surface extended warm feelings for one another at that occasion.

“You should not listen to gossip from people who don’t mean well for Plateau. There are people who would sow seeds of discord between me and the minister for their selfish gains. Don’t listen to them,” the governor had said on that occasion.

However, the death in the Turkish Hospital, Abuja of Senator Longjan has now revved up talk of a political problem for the governor on the plateau.

“The governor has to now find someone to keep the seat for him,” one informed political operative told GreenWhiteGreen on Monday morning as the news of the senator swept through the plateau.

“A new battle front has been opened for the governor, before he was having peace until this one now,” another senior politician said told GreenWhiteGreen.  

Mrs. Tallen who informed sources claimed was preparing to again frontally battle the governor for the ticket in 2023 is not expected to throw her hat into the contest this time given her ministerial appointment as she would have to resign her appointment.

As the death of the senator dawned on the plateau on Monday morning talk of how it would affect the political dynamics of the state was unfolding with speculations on who could contest for the vacant seat and how it would affect relations with the governor.  

Ms. Beni Lar, the fourth term member of the House of Representatives representing Langtang North/South Federal Constituency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP was one of those mentioned on Monday morning.

Lar, the daughter of the former governor of Plateau, Chief Solomon Lar could go into the contest with the advantage of having two and a half Local Government Areas, Langtang North and South and half of Wase behind her given the presence of her ethnic stock in those constituencies.

Another possible aspirant could be the present member of the House of Representatives representing Mikang/Qua’anpan/Shendam Federal Constituency, Rep. Alphonsus Komsol.

Komsol who represents Governor Lalong’s federal constituency even though a member of the APC was not the governor’s first choice to represent the federal constituency. Komsol by grit succeeded in the primary election.

Another possible aspirant in 2023 who would not show his hand in the forthcoming bye election is the deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Ahmed Idris Wase. Wase is believed to be interested in the Senate ticket in 2023.

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