The Labour and Employment Minister, Simon Lalong is set to join the 10th National Assembly as a Senator following his victory at the Appeal Court two weeks back.

However, there are strong indications that Lalong will be leaving President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet as a minister to assume a Senate seat.

The indication emerged last Thursday when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presented a Certificate of Return (CoR) to Lalong as the rightful winner of the Plateau South senatorial election following the Court of Appeal ruling to that effect.

It was gathered from credible sources that Lalong had weighed his options and eventually decided to quit the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to join the 10th Senate as elected Senator representing Plateau South.

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal had nullified the participation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its senatorial candidate in the February 25 National Assembly elections for Plateau South Senatorial District, Napoleon Bali, on the ground of refusal to carry out a lawful order of the court.

Delivering judgment, a three-member panel led by Justice Elfreda Williams-Dawodu declared as unlawful and wasted votes cast for PDP in the election and declared the immediate-past governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, as the rightful winner of the Plateau South Senatorial District election.

Lalong, who stood for the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had emerged second in the Senatorial election.

Justice Williams-Dawodu held that the PDP and its candidate have no legal ground to participate in the election having failed to obey the judgment of a Plateau High Court that the party should conduct lawful congresses for the purpose of having officers for Wards, Local Governments, and State Council. (New Telegraph)

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