JUST IN: Why Simon Lalong resigned as Tinubu’s minister of labour, employment

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong has resigned his appointment as a member of the Federal Executive Council to go to the Senate.

Sources say the minister will, however, wait for President Bola Tinubu’s decision before proceeding to the upper chamber.

Recall that on November 7, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the judgment of the tribunal that recently sacked the elected members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Plateau State, and Lalong was declared the winner of the Plateau South Senatorial election held on February 25, 2023.

The Minister fortnight ago was issued with the Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after the appeal court judgment.

Sources close to the Minister, who was the immediate former governor of Plateau State and Director-General of the Tinubu Presidential Council, said: “The Minister will join the Senate. He will go there to ensure that President Bola Tinubu succeeds. The Senate is where the elders are, and he wants to join them.

“A new younger person will be appointed by Mr. President as the Minister representing Plateau State to replace His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, as soon as he resigns.

“You know the role played by the Minister during the campaigns, he believes in Asiwaju and is ready to contribute to ensure that the government succeeds.”