Solomon Lar Lived In Abuja Rented apartment, Had Difficulty Paying Rent,aide Says

NATIONAL, NEWS
Arthur Eze promised to buy the
house for Mr. Lar’s family.
The members of the National Working
Committee, NWC, of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, led by
Bamanga Tukur, paid a condolence
visit to the Abuja home of the pioneer
chairman of the ruling party, Solomon
Lar, only to be shocked that the late
politician was merely a tenant there.
Mr. Lar died in the United States on
Wednesday at 80. He was the first
civilian governor of the old Plateau
State, comprising the present Plateau
and Nasarawa. He also served the
country in other capacities, including
Police Affairs Minister under the
military administration of Sani Abacha
before he became the founding PDP
National Chairman in 1998.
An aide of the late politician, Danladi
Wuyep, a former ambassador, told
the NWC members during the
condolence visit that he (Mr. Lar) did
not have a private house in Abuja.
Mr. Wuyep explained that the duplex
Mr. Lar and members of his family
lived in Maitama District, Abuja, was
not only a rented apartment, but that
he was already having challenges in
paying the rent before his demise.
The aide added that he and other
family members, whose names he did
not mention, were planning to see Mr.
Tukur, over matter before the death of
Lar abroad.
Earlier, the PDP chairman said he
received with shock the news of the
death of Mr. Lar, whom he described
him as one of Nigeria’s greatest
nationalist.
“It is with shock that I received the
shattering news of the passage of one
of Nigerian’s greatest nationalist
Chief Dr Solomon Lar,” Mr. Tukur
said.
“Chief Solomon Lar has been a close
friend and an associate, to me
politically for a long time now, he was
open minded, fearless, dogged, and a
resolute fighter for the right of the
oppressed and the less privileged.
“A great family man and
disciplinarian, Lar was a dependable
husband to his spouse and a loving
father who cherished his children.
“He did not spare anything in given
his children the best training and
education”.
He also noted that the late elder
statesman was one of those who
challenged certain policies of the
military regime at that time despite
the dangers to their lives and property
which such divergent views posed.
“Chief Lar stood to be counted
among other nationalists and brave
statesmen who refused to keep quiet
while the nation was getting close the
precipitate.
“It was his group which midwife the
formation of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP). Lar was one of the
founding fathers of PDP and our
pioneer Chairman.
“He also led the PDP to electoral
victories in 1999. In a sense, Chief
Lar laid the foundation for the strong
resilient and vibrant political party
which the PDP is today,” the PDP
chairman said.
Mr. Lar’s daughter, Beni, who is a
member of the House of
Representatives, said the father lived
for the peace and unity of the
country.
She challenged the PDP leaders to
carry on with this legacy, even within
the PDP family.
Meanwhile, a businessman and
politician, Arthur Eze, who was also
on a condolence visit to the Lar family
when the PDP delegation came,
promised the family that he would buy
the same apartment for the children
of the deceased.
“I am paying for the house, don’t
border yourself”, he said.
Mr. Eze, who hails from Anambra
State, extolled Mr. Lar’s virtue,
adding that the late politician assisted
him when he was governor of Plateau
State.
He described Mr. Lar as a detribalized
Nigerian who was willing to lend a
helping hand to the down trodden.
“I came to him from Enugu, he never
knew me before and he gave me the
contract for the building of a
television station. The first money that
touched my hand came from him. He
is a different human being,” he said