Battle Royal: Jang Moves To Official Residence Of Deputy Governor

PHOTO: R-L: MR JONAH DAVID JANG, PLATEAU STATE GOVERNOR AND MRS PAULINE TALLEN, DEPUTY GOVERNOR, PLATEAU STATE.

JOS, August 31, (THEWILL) - In what appears to be an attempt to spite his deputy, Governor of Plateau State, Mr. Jonah Jang, today moved into the house officially allocated and designated for the state's Deputy Governor.

The official residence of the Deputy Governor along Tudun Wada road in Jos has been renovated at a whopping cost, while work is on to expand the road leading to the house.

The Deputy Governor, Mrs. Pauline Tallen has been left stranded in her private residence.

The Plateau State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Gregory Yenlong had informed newsmen since April that the governor would be moving into the Deputy Governor's residence in order to stay close to the people and to be more accessible.

The governor has been staying in his country home residence in a village called Du in Jos South local government, a distance of about 20 kilometers to the city center.

It is not clear why the governor decided to move into the house apart from the official explanation given by the state commissioner, but it is clear that the action did not go down well with the deputy, Pauline Tallen who has continued to stay in her personal residence at Rayfield, Jos even after assuming office as Deputy Governor of the state.

Government House sources say the governor had instructed the Permanent Secretary, Government House to officially notify Mrs. Tallen via an official memo, but, for some reason, the correspondence was delayed and Jang had to brief his Deputy on the development himself.

Jang was said to have told his deputy that he would be occupying her official residence due to the increasing size of his family.

Curiously, the first family has not had a newborn baby neither had the governor taken a second wife since coming into power.

Jang, it was learnt, pleaded with the deputy to move into one of the Government Guest Houses, ‘the Green House’, along Bauchi Ring Road, near Rikkos Junction, but Mrs. Tallen declined opting to remain in her personal house.