Simon Bako Lalong CON (born 5 May 1963) is a Nigerian attorney and statesman, who held the position of governor of Plateau State from 2015 to 2023 and was designated Minister of Labour and Employment.
Simon Education
He completed his primary and secondary education in the Shendam Local Government Area before proceeding to S.P.S Keffi, which he left in 1986. He subsequently attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, where he acquired a bachelor’s degree in law in 1990. He immediately followed this with enrollment at the Lagos Law School, where he was also called to the bar. Later, in 1996, he achieved a master’s in law from the University of Jos.
Simon Professional life
From 1992, the year after Lalong completed law school, until 1998, the onset of Nigeria’s new democracy, he operated as a lawyer in the private sector. He collaborated with several law firms during this period, one of which he co-owned. Lalong acted as the deputy secretary for the Nigerian Bar Association in Plateau State from 1992 to 1994. After spending seven years in politics, he returned to the legal field, serving as the Principal Partner of Simon B Lalong and Co. until 2015.
Simon political career
In 1998, Lalong temporarily stepped back from legal practice to pursue a political career. He successfully campaigned for a position in his hometown Shendam Constituency representing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and was elected to the Plateau State House of Assembly. In October 2000, he became the assembly’s speaker, a role he maintained until 2006 when the House faced political upheaval.
His seven-year tenure made him the longest-serving speaker in Plateau State’s legislative history. During this period, he was elected Chairman of the Conference of Speakers for Nigeria’s 36 states on two occasions (2001 and 2002).
As Jonah Jang’s second term as governor of Plateau State concluded in 2015, Lalong decided to run for the position to succeed him. This time, he did so under the political banner of the All Progressive Congress (APC). He assumed office as the new governor on May 29, 2015.
Lalong was re-elected as governor of Plateau State on March 9, 2019, and again on March 23, 2019, during the supplementary gubernatorial election. He garnered 595,582 votes, surpassing General Jeremiah Husseini of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who amassed 546,813 votes.
On May 29, 2019, he secured reelection to the governorship of Plateau State. Lalong contested for a senatorial position in the 2023 general election to represent the Plateau South senatorial district in the National Assembly; however, he was defeated by Napoleon Bali, who was running on the PDP platform. On August 2, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Lalong as a minister to represent Plateau State.
