In an ongoing political development, it has come to light that 46 days after their inauguration as ministers by President Bola Tinubu, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, and the Minister of Police Affairs, Ibrahim Geidam, have not yet resigned their memberships in the Senate.

This revelation has raised questions and concerns about the delay in these resignations.

Umahi, the former Deputy Senate Leader who previously represented Ebonyi South, and Geidam, who represented Yobe East, are among the 48 ministers in Tinubu’s cabinet who were sworn in on August 21.

Notably, Umahi received his nomination shortly after being appointed as a principal officer in the 10th Senate, while Geidam, a former governor of Yobe State, was in his second term as a senator when appointed as a minister.

When questioned about why the Senate seats of these two former lawmakers have not yet been declared vacant, the Senate’s spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, explained that the seats could only be declared vacant upon receiving official resignation communication from the ministers.

He emphasized that established procedures must be followed, and the Senate President would announce such vacancies during a plenary session once the communication was received.

Adaramodu speculated that the delay in resignation letters might be due to the new ministers still settling into their roles and offices.

ALSO READ: Senate rejects CBN loans, issues warning to Tinubu

He noted that the National Assembly had recently resumed its sessions and had only convened for a short time.

The absence of a Deputy Senate Leader since Umahi’s departure from the 10th Senate remains a notable concern.

It is expected that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct bye-elections to fill the senatorial districts’ seats once they are officially declared vacant.

The Senate will need to fill the vacant principal officers’ positions in due course.

In related news, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudden Abbas, recently declared two House seats vacant and called for bye-elections following the resignation letters of the Minister of Interior, Tunji Bunmi-Ojo (APC, Ondo), and the Minister for Education, Tanko Sununu (APC, Kebbi), who were members of the 10th House.

Abbas also declared the seat of the Speaker of the 9th House, Femi Gbajabiamila, vacant due to his appointment as the Chief of Staff to the President by President Tinubu.