President Bola Tinubu has accepted the resignation of Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment, as confirmed by the Presidency to The PUNCH on Monday
Lalong will now move to the National Assembly as the Senator representing the Plateau South Senatorial District, securing the seat through confirmation by an appeal court ruling dated November 7, 2023.
“Lalong has resigned. But it was not at the FEC meeting itself. It must have been after the meeting because, if it were earlier, the President or SGF would have announced it during the meeting,” a presidential aide told our correspondent.
It’s been gathered that the former Plateau State Governor is scheduled to be sworn in later this week by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
During the months before the February Presidential election, Lalong took on the role of Director-General for the Tinubu Campaign Organisation.
Despite his bid for a Senate seat, the Independent National Electoral Commission’s results revealed his defeat in the election.
However, he challenged the result in court and emerged victorious at the Court of Appeal.
It was gathered that Lalong, a lawyer and former two-term Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, privately submitted his resignation to the President after last Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House
Confirming this, a Twitter user in the President’s camp, Imran Mohammad said, “President Tinubu, Accepted Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, Resignation from the cabinet, his valedictory will hold the next FEC meeting.”
It was verified that there won’t be an FEC meeting this week.
This circumstance suggests that lalong’s appearance at last Wednesday’s meeting was probably his final one as a council member
Kanyi Daily recalls that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had appointed Simon Lalong, as the Director-General of its presidential campaign council.