Pioneer PDP national chair Lar dies at 80!
President Goodluck Jonathan led the tributes. Senate President David Mark, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, Governors, the PDP, ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, All Progressives Congress (APC) leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and others eulogised “the selfless politician”.
The late Lar was governor of the old Plateau State, which comprised the present Plateau and Nasarawa states, between 1979 and 1983.
The late Lar, who died at a private hospital where he had been receiving treatment for what a family source described as old age-related ailment, was elected on the platform of the defunct Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP), which was led by Nigeria’s first President, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe.
The elder statesman was out of public view for more than one year when he relocated to the United States to take care of his health.
Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang announced Lar’s death yesterday.
In a statement. He said: “The family of Baba Lar informed me of his death and I feel duty bound to inform the good people of the state.
“The Plateau State government and its people regret the death of Chief Lar. We wished he had lived longer for young politicians to tap from his wealth of experience. But who are we to question God who gives lifes and takes it at his own will?”
He expressed the condolences of the government and people of the state to “the immediate family of Chief Lar, the Tarok nation and the entire people of Nigeria”.
The governor said the government had begun the process of conveying the body of the patriarch home for a befitting funeral.
The Chief Press Secretary to the late Lar, Mr. Major Adeyi, said: “The Tarok chief who marked his 80 birthday anniversary in April is survived by his wife Mary, and four children including Hon Beni Lar, a member of the House of Representatives (Langtang North/Langtang South Federal Constituency).
President Jonathan said he received the news of the passing away of Lar with sadness and feeling of immense national loss.
Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, extended condolences to the Lar Family, Governor Jonah Jang, the people of Plateau State, the people of the Middle Belt and all others for whom Chief Solomon was a much-beloved, charismatic and inspirational political leader.
He mourned the passage of a truly great leader whose eventful and highly successful political career predate Nigeria’s independence, having started with his election as a Councilor in the Langtang Native Authority in January 1959 and continued with his election to the Federal Parliament in December, 1959.
Jonathan urged the people to take solace in the knowledge that Chief Lar lived a long and most fulfilled life, and that his immense contributions to communal, state and national development have assured him of a place amongst the eternal heroes of the Nigerian nation.
The President believed that Chief Lar will always be remembered for the exemplary humility, great vision, wisdom and maturity which he brought to political leadership in Nigeria for over 50 years as a legislator, executive governor, party leader and highly revered elder statesman.
The present and future generations of Nigerians, he said, will always acknowledge and honour Chief Lar’s role as one of the founders and architects of the country’s current democratic dispensation which he helped to establish and stabilize.
The President prayed that God Alimghty who blessed the Nigerian nation with the gift of Chief Lar’s acclaimed leadership abilities for so many decades, will receive his soul, and grant him a well deserved rest from his earthly labours.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) expressed “deep sadness” over the death of its pioneer National Chairman describing his death as a huge loss to the nation.
National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh in a statement, said the death of the politician has “left a big vacuum not only in the party but in Plateau State and the nation at large.”
The party described Lar as a quintessential politician and patriot who sacrificed the greater part of his life for the entrenchment of true democracy and an egalitarian Nigeria where all are free.
“Our hearts reach out to the government and people of Plateau State, the millions of PDP family nationwide, but most importantly to his loved ones and immediate family.
“Chief Solomon Lar will be remembered for his insistence on the emancipation of the masses and his white handkerchief. That is why he was fondly called ‘The Emancipatorr. PDP members will not forget the image of Chief Solomon Lar on the podium with his white handkerchief, singing and dancing to the PDP song.”
Senate President David Mark lamented the death of a “foremost political leader”.
He described the late Lar as rare Nigerian who propagated the tenet of democracy and lived to see the actualisation of the people’s will.
He noted that the late Lar would be remembered for fighting for democracy and enthronement of the people’s mandate against all odds.
He recalled that the late Lar led the group of G-34, which later metamorphosed into today’s PDP.
Mark, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, in Abuja, said: “We owe him a great deal of gratitude. He surely has a place of pride in the political history of Nigeria. Lar was a different kind of leader. He put the people and the nation first before self.
“He was an easy going man . He was a calculated, gentle and result-oriented leader. Regrettably, the nation has lost one of her shinning stars. We shall miss his robust contributions to national issues. We shall miss his humour.”
House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal said he received with immense sadness and a feeling of great national loss the news of the passing away of the elder statesman per excellence.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, Tambuwal said Lar would always be remembered as a man of integrity whose forthrightness and wisdom stood him out among his peers.
He said the late former Plateau governor lived a fulfilled life full of accomplishments and notable contributions to national unity.
While praying for the repose of the soul of the elder statesman, the Speaker urged his family, friends, associates and admirers to be comforted by the knowledge that he will always be remembered as a visionary and a universally acclaimed pacesetter who delivered positive results in all the public assignments he undertook.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar described Lar’s death as the loss of one of the country’s greatest statesmen.
“He was a leader Nigeria needed at each time of crisis,” Atiku said noting that his departure will be most felt now when there is growing disagreement among the country’s political elite.
Atiku said the late Lar’s “fight for his Middle-Belt region in particular and Nigerians in general will be remembered by every worthy historian of this era.”
He prayed to God for the repose of his soul.
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