Politics
President Tinubu Acknowledges Lalong’s Resignation
President Bola Tinubu has formally accepted the resignation of Simon Lalong, the Minister of Labour and Employment, as confirmed by the Presidency on Monday.
Intriguing details emerge as Simon Lalong, the former Plateau State Governor, prepares to take on a new role as Senator for Plateau South Senatorial district.
His journey takes a compelling turn, as an appeal court ruling on November 7, 2023, affirms his previously contested electoral loss.
The intricate dynamics surrounding Lalong’s resignation add a layer of complexity.
Although the official announcement did not occur during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, sources reveal it took place shortly afterward.
A presidential aide clarified, “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.”
Lalong’s political trajectory involves diverse roles, including serving as the Director-General of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation leading to the February Presidential election.
Despite an initial setback in the Senate race, where he lost according to the Independent National Electoral Commission results, Lalong challenged the outcome in court.
His tenacity prevailed as the Court of Appeal ruled in his favour.
Anticipation builds as Lalong is set to be sworn in later this week by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, marking a pivotal moment in his political career.
Social media buzzes with insights into Lalong’s departure from the cabinet.
Imran Mohammad, a Twitter user in the President’s camp, shares, “President Tinubu accepted Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong’s resignation from the cabinet. His valedictory will hold at the next FEC meeting.”
With no FEC meeting scheduled for this week, last Wednesday’s session becomes a poignant moment, potentially marking Lalong’s final appearance as a council member.
The political tension in Rivers State has reached a boiling point as a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Tony Okocha, has issued a stern ultimatum to Governor Siminalayi Fubara to either resign or face impeachment.
Okocha’s call comes amid a heated political standoff following the Supreme Court’s recent validation of 27 state lawmakers loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, as the legitimate legislative body in the state.
The crisis took a new turn when Governor Fubara extended an invitation to the 27 lawmakers for a meeting, a move Okocha described as a “Greek gift” and a gesture that appears generous but is ultimately deceptive.
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The invitation, signed by the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Tammy Danagogo, was seen as an attempt to mend fences after months of political grandstanding. However, Okocha dismissed the gesture as insincere and politically motivated.
Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt on Monday, Okocha did not mince words, as he accused Governor Fubara of running the state into the ground, flouting the law, and disrespecting President Bola Tinubu, who had previously intervened in the state’s political crisis with an eight-point agenda.
According to Okocha, the governor’s failure to implement most of the agenda has further exacerbated the situation.
“The APC remains the major opposition party in Rivers State. We are the voice of the voiceless,” Okocha declared. “When we said Siminalayi Fubara was clueless, we were not joking. The evidence is clear.
“The governor behaves like a saint, but he is a dangerous snake. His meeting agenda with the lawmakers is puerile. Is he inviting them to discuss the Supreme Court judgment? And why was the invitation letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government instead of the governor himself? It’s an aberration. As far as I’m concerned, it is a Greek gift.”
Okocha emphasized that the APC would not stand idly while the governor allegedly mismanages the state. He outlined two options for Fubara which are to resign honorably or face impeachment.
“The options before Siminalayi Joseph Fubara are two: he should honourably resign or be impeached because he has run the state aground and disrespected Mr. President,” Okocha stated.
The APC chairman also warned that the governor’s continued stay in office could lead to political instability, describing the state as “sitting on a keg of gunpowder.”
He urged Fubara to step down to avoid further escalation. “The state is already sitting on a keg of gunpowder, and with a little spark, it will explode. So, let Fubara honourably resign,” Okocha cautioned.
Senator Shehu Sani has downplayed ex-governor Nasir El-Rufai’s defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the move won’t impact the ruling party’s fortune in the coming elections billed for 2027.
El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna State on Monday left the APC, a party he was a founding member, and pitched his tent with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in a move pundits believe will change the political texture of the country.
But Sani, who is also from Kaduna like El-Rufai, believes the former Minister of the FCT holds no political relevance.
“Well, first of all, for those of us from Kaduna State, it [his defection] is a good riddance because he stands as a liability to the party in the state,” the former Kaduna Central senator said on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today, citing the APC’s losses under El-Rufai.
“I can back this with facts. In 2015, APC had two senators. By 2023, all the senatorial zones were taken over by PDP. Out of the 14 House of Representatives seats in Kaduna State, by the time he left [office as governor], almost nine of the seats were won by PDP, two by the Labour Party, and then three by APC. With him as a governor, the APC also lost the presidential election in Kaduna State.”
El-Rufai had cited the party’s departure from progressive ideals as his reason for defection.
“At this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish,” the former governor said.
The former FCT minister was a founding member of the ruling party. He was instrumental to APC’s victory in the 2015, 2019, and 2023 presidential elections. His relationship with the party, however, soured after he was not screened for a ministerial role.
But Sani, who recently returned to the APC, accused El-Rufai of destabilizing the party and believes his defection offers an opportunity for the APC to rebuild and come out stronger.
“So, you can see that by the time he left, already the party was an unpopular platform in the state. So his exit now is an opportunity,” the APC chieftain said.
“For the governor and party leaders of the state to embrace the people of the state and to reconfigure and reset the party towards the next election.”
President Bola Tinubu is currently observing the breaking of the fast (Iftar) at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He is joined by Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara, his estranged godfather and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, alongside other governors, ministers, and heads of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
More details to follow shortly.