Rt. Hon. Simon Lalong, a former minister of labour and employment, has explained why he left President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s cabinet to run for the Plateau South senatorial seat. He spoke yesterday in Abuja following his inauguration by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Akpabio praised Lalong, who also served as the director-general of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaigns during Tinubu’s election as president in 2023.
Lalong, a former speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, tendered his resignation as minister to Tinubu on Tuesday.
Lalong said he wanted to be a senator after he served his tenure as governor in May 2023, saying: “This was my first choice, to be candid.”
According to him, he chose to serve as minister in the interim and on Tinubu’s invitation since he had a matter pending in court.
In addition, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, the APC’s national chairman, praised the inauguration as a happy event.
“This is a moment of happiness. We are so happy that he won at the Court of Appeal.
“What Nigerians will expect is good legislation. As we know, the APC has the majority and will work for the prosperity of all Nigerians,” Ganduje added.
On November 7, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, confirmed the lower tribunal’s decision, which proclaimed Lalong the winner of the Plateau-South Senatorial District election.
The Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Mr Napoleon Bali, was first proclaimed the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
According to INEC, Bali received 148,844 votes, while Lalong received 91,674 votes.
However, Lalong challenged the outcome, claiming that the PDP lacked proper infrastructure in the state from which a candidate could run in an election.
