ABUJA — BARRING any last minutes change, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong is expected to be sworn-in today as Senator representing Plateau South Senatorial District by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio.
Recall that the appeal court sitting in Abuja, had on November 7, 2023, affirmed that Lalong, who was the immediate past governor of Plateau state and the Director General of Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Organisation in the February 25 election was the winner of the election.
The victory of Lalong and some other contestants in the 2023 general elections was after the appeal court sacked all the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who were declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in the February 25 national assembly elections.
A presidential source had confirmed that: “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.”
The Labour and Employment Minister told Vanguard on Tuesday when he visited the seat of power to see President Bola Tinubu that he will be resuming at the senate on Wednesday.
It was gathered that Lalong, a lawyer and two-term Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly, tendered his resignation privately to the President after last Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
A source close to the former governor told Vanguard that Lalong would use his position in the senate to support President Tinubu’s administration.
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 next FEC meeting.”