Inside the Abandoned N13.5bn Plateau Gov’t House
When Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State said he would not live in the newly built Government House in Little Rayfield, very few took his words seriously. Many saw his statement then as that of a man yet to taste the privilege of power and was therefore, making promises he could not keep. Even those who supported Lalong as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at that time doubted his sincerity to forfeit an opportunity to live and work in the N13.5 billion edifice built by his immediate predecessor, Senator Jonah David Jang.
But shortly after he came to power, Lalong dismissed the need for the structure; describing it as too opulent and suggested that the people of the state would in the long run decide what it would be used for. He went ahead to walk his talk by snubbing the highly expansive project until the House of Assembly passed a motion compelling him to move in. Despite that, Lalong has continued to use the governor’s office and other facilities in the new government house without moving his family into the luxurious governor’s residence beside his office.
Situated atop a huge rock with a beautiful view that overlooks a large expanse of Little Rayfield, the governor’s residence is said to have an average of eight sitting rooms, six bedrooms and a lot of open space.
There is a two bedroom flat guest wing, a three bedroom flat children’s wing, as well as protocol lounges. The building also has four staggered floors, each with a kitchen, a swimming pool, a gymnasium and other exotic facilities.
Despite these luxuries, Lalong has moved into the more modest governor’s lodge beside the old government house at Rayfield. The governor’s present abode was remodelled in 1991 and commissioned by former President, Ibrahim Babangida. It was then expanded into a presidential lodge under former governor, Joshua Dariye, but later renovated and used as a governor’s residence by David Jang, when his personal residence at Du in Jos-South was being renovated.
David Jang had said that Plateau State deserved a permanent government house because then, as governor, he had to shuttle between three temporary locations: his home at Du, the old government house which is currently the deputy governor’s office and the former Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs; which was renovated to serve as a temporary government lodge before it became the Gbong Gwom’s palace.
Today, Plateau’s new seat of power is situated in a serene environment with beautiful rock formations, trees and other natural features. The masterpiece project seats on 53 hectares of land with state-of-the-art facilities said to have been shipped from Italy. Less than five kilometres from the old government house, the structure, from the beginning of construction watered the mouth of many, especially those who knew of Jang’s taste. He constructed the new government house despite condemnation from many that the cost was too high. But due to his unwavering resolve to have his way, he went ahead to complete most parts of the government house, lived in it for a couple of months before he vacated it for his predecessor.
As at 2015, when the new government house was commissioned, the former Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Architect Sylvanus Dongtoe, said the cost of the main structures which include over 300 offices, the governor’s residence, the clinic, banquet hall, the first lady’s office, a multi-purpose event centre, among others, was estimated at N7.1 billion.
The helipad, road network, parking lot and other facilities had consumed N3.9 billion, while N1.5 billion was expended on security facilities, including the territorial fence, gate house, security posts and surveillance gadgets. Furnishings and accessories for the buildings had cost a total of N1 billion even though the then commissioner said the governor’s residence, banquet and conference halls were at that time yet to be properly furnished, while the state house chapel was also not complete.
Interestingly, this is one government house that keeps consuming money. In 2016, the sum of N1.5 billion was budgeted to complete the project and another N1 billion has now been budgeted under the 2017 appropriation law making the overall figure at least N16 billion.
Two years into his tenure, Lalong still drives every morning with his protocol staff from the governor’s lodge at Rayfield to his office at Little Rayfield while his supposed residence stands empty.
Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that in as much as his reservations about the structure predate his assumption to power, it has not stopped the spinning of several conspiracy theories as to why the governor has refused to spend a single night in the structure.
There are those who claim Lalong’s skepticism to move into the residence which Jang had lived in before the end of his tenure was due to the fact that the structure, like other abodes of power, has a spiritual side and may have been enveloped by some unknown spell.
Others also speculate that the contractors who were hired by the immediate past government may have planted hidden cameras at certain locations and that the governor’s kitchen cabinet; despite the extensive sweeping of the house, were still not satisfied.
Another theory is that since the government house is located a little bit outside the elitist area and is surrounded by scanty communities, there are fears that night clashes between Berom and Fulani herdsmen would be a security threat to the governor.
However, the Director of Press to the Governor, Samuel Emmanuel Nanle, told Daily Trust on Sunday that the governor’s residence at Little Rayfield was not abandoned, saying it is being used as “a protocol classified presidential lodge”. Nanle said most of the theories peddled on why Lalong had not moved into the new governor’s residence were laughable, adding, “the only reason why the governor forfeited the building was because it was too big for his small family.”
The thought of converting the government house into a hotel as once suggested by Lalong also seem to have been abandoned as Nanle explained that an attempt to do so will compromise the security of the governor’s office due to its proximity.
“Remember that he said the building should be made to benefit the entire people of Plateau State not just his family. Initially we wanted it to be a hotel but because of its proximity to the governor’s office we felt that will undermine security. So it was decided that the place should be used as a presidential lodge; and so far, it is being used for that purpose,” he said.