President Bola Tinubu has accepted the resignation of Simon Lalong, Minister of Labour and Employment, the Presidency announced on Monday.
Lalong will now represent Plateau South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, a seat he won, as confirmed 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.
According to reports, the former Plateau State Governor will be sworn in later this week by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
In the months leading up to the February presidential election, Lalong served as Director-General of the Tinubu Campaign Organization.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, he ran for the Senate but was defeated.
He did, however, challenge the outcome in court and was successful at the Court of Appeal.
According to reports, Lalong, a lawyer and two-term Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, privately tendered his resignation to President Buhari following last Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House.
Imran Mohammad, a Twitter user in the president’s camp, confirmed this: “President Tinubu, accepted Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, resigns from the cabinet; his valedictory will hold the next FEC meeting.”
According to reports, there will be no FEC meeting this week, making last Wednesday’s meeting the former Plateau State governor’s likely final appearance as a council member.