President Bola Tinubu has accepted the resignation of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, the Presidency confirm.
Lalong will now proceed to the National Assembly as Senator representing Plateau South Senatorial, a seat he won as affirmed 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.
Lalong served as Director-General of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation in the months leading to the February Presidential election.
He ran for the Senate office but lost, according to results by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
However, he challenged the result in court and won at the Court of Appeal.
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 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 next FEC meeting.”
However, our correspondent confirmed that there would be no FEC meeting this week, making last Wednesday’s meeting Lalong’s likely final appearance as a council member.
The former Plateau State Governor is due to be sworn in later this week by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, it was gathered.