A university professor from Gashua, Lawan was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 to represent the Bade/Jakusko Constituency as a member of the All Nigeria Peoples Party. Lawan was reelected in 2003 before successfully running to become Yobe North Senator in 2007.[3] After being reelected in 2011, 2015, and 2019 (as a member of the All Progressive Congress, successor to the ANPP), Lawan was elected the new Senate President with 79 votes cast to beat Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume with 28 votes after the inauguration of the 9th Nigeria National Assembly in 2019.[4] It was his second attempt at becoming Senate President, with a notable failed run in 2015.
Early life and education
Lawan was born on 12 January 1959 in Gashua, then in the north of British Nigeria. He completed primary school at Sabon Gari Primary School, Gashua in 1974 and secondary school at Government Secondary School, Gashua in 1979 before receiving a bachelor's degree in Geography from the University of Maiduguri in 1984.[5]
Lawan worked in the Yobe State Civil Service as an Education Officer in the state Ministry of Education in 1985 and 1986 before lecturing at his alma mater, University of Maiduguri between 1987 and 1997.[citation needed]
Political career
After being elected to the House of Representatives for the constituency of Bade/Jakusko in 1999,[8] at different times Lawan chaired the House Committees on education and agriculture.[9]
Lawan was elected to the Senate in 2007. In 2008, he was a member of the National Assembly's Joint Committee on Constitution Review.[10]
In 2009, as chairman of the Senate committee on Public Accounts, Lawan initiated and sponsored the Desertification Control Commission Bill.[11]
In August 2009, Senator Lawan spoke against the proposed Kafin Zaki Dam. He stated that the Tiga Dam and Challawa Gorge Dam had already reduced water flow drastically, and the Jama'are River was now the main source of water in the Yobe River. He said the dams caused intense poverty, increased desert encroachment, migration and conflicts between arable farmers and herdsmen.[12]
Lawan ran for reelection in Yobe North Senatorial District on the ANPP platform in the 9 April 2011 elections.
He won with 92,799 votes, trailed by Hassan Kafayos Hussaini of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) with 76,960 votes.[13] Four years later, Lawan won reelection as a member of the APC before winning with 72% of the vote in 2019.[citation needed]
Lawan was named chairman, Senate committee on defence on 8 August 2023.[14]
Senate Presidency
2015 election
In 2015 Lawan ran for the senate president after APC zoned the position to the north eastern Nigeria based on the party's power-sharing formula among the six geo-political zones at the time.[15] The zoning meant that only senators elected on the platform of the party (APC) from the six states in the north east could run for senate president.[16] After consultations with critical political stakeholders and senators elect from the north east, Lawan was endorsed and presented to the national leadership of the party who anointed him as the candidate of the party for senate president.[17][18] The APC zoning arrangement prevents other senators elect who are from other zones from contesting for the seat. But senator Bukola Saraki from Kwara State, north central disagreed with the party's arrangement saying all qualified candidates should be allowed to exercise their constitutional rights to run for positions of leadership of the Nigerian Senate. Saraki declared his candidacy against the party's zoning principle.[19]
On the morning of 9 June 2015 the day for the election of the senate president 51 senators of the APC gathered at the International Conference Centre waiting for a truce meeting reportedly called by the leadership of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari with a clear objective to prevail on senator Saraki to drop his ambition and support Lawan when 57 senators mostly of the opposition PDP and a few senators of APC present conducted the election.[20] Saraki won the election by 57 unanimous votes[21] of the senators present during the election.[22][23][24] Lawal was at the International Conference Centre when the election was conducted and a winner emerged. That event finally nailed his ambition for the president of the 8th senate.[25]
2019 election
After meeting with the Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, 6 June 2019, Senator Danjuma Goje stepped down for Lawan from the Senate Presidency race. On 11 June 2019, Lawan was elected and sworn in as the Senate President of the Nigerian 9th Assembly,[26] after defeating his opponent, Senator Ali Ndume who is also an APC Senator.[27] Lawan defeated his opponent with 79 votes to 28.[28][29]
Corruption allegations
After the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in August 2021, Lawan and other legislators were accused of receiving bribes to guarantee the legislation's advancement despite significant public opposition to parts of the text. According to Peoples Gazette reporting, at least $10 million was paid to legislators in payments organized by Minister of State for Petroleum ResourcesTimipre Sylva and Akwa Ibom North-East Senator Bassey Albert Akpan with between $1.5 million and $2 million going to both Lawan and House SpeakerFemi Gbajabiamila. Multiple legislators corroborated the story with several legislators expressing anger, not that the Gbajabiamila and Lawan allegedly took bribes but instead that the bribes were not shared equally among the legislators as other legislators claimed to have received $5,000 for representatives and $20,000 for senators. Gbajabiamila, Lawan, Sylva, and Akpan all initially declined to comment on the report.[30][31] Several days after the story broke, Lawan denied it, stating that the report was "unwarranted, unproven, and false" before warning Nigerians to "always think positive about their leaders and their governments" and advising that "if they have issues they feel very strongly about, let them speak the truth and we are prepared to tell corrections that that we feel should be able to make us do better."[32]
^Abaribe was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in May 2022.
^Abbo was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in November 2020.
^Akpan was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the YPP in July 2022.
^The PDP's Ekpenyong was elected senator in 2019 but a Court of Appeal partially annulled the results and called a supplementary election in the affected areas. Ekpenyong won the ensuing rerun election and was sworn-in again in January 2020.
^Oduah was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in August 2021 before returning to the PDP in April 2022.
^Jika was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the NNPP in June 2022.
^Bulkachuwa was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in November 2022.
^Gumau was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the NNPP in May 2022.
^The PDP's Douye Diri was elected senator in 2019 but resigned in February 2020 after winning election to become Bayelsa State Governor. Cleopas won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^The PDP's Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo was elected senator in 2019 but resigned in February 2020 after winning election to become Bayelsa State Deputy Governor. Dickson won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^ abIn April 2022, Adamu and Kyari resigned from the Senate after taking APC party offices the month prior.
^The PDP's Rose Okoji Oko was elected senator in 2019 but died in March 2020. Jarigbe and fellow PDP member Stephen Odey fought in court over the ensuing by-election's PDP nomination; Odey won both initial court decisions and the by-election before taking office late in December 2020. However, Jarigbe later won several court challenges which declared him the legitimate PDP nominee and thus senator. Jarigbe took office in September 2021.
^Nwaoboshi was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in June 2021.
^Alimikhena was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in June 2022.
^The APC's Adedayo Clement Adeyeye was elected senator in 2019 but the NASS Election Petition Tribunal awarded and Court of Appeal affirmed the win to Olujimi. She took office in November 2019.
^Onyewuchi was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the LP in June 2022.
^Due to disputes over alleged irregularities, the APC's Benjamin Uwajumogu was not sworn in until July 2019. Uwajumogu died in December 2019 leading to a bye-election. After disputes, Ibezim was awarded the bye-election victory and took office in April 2021.
^Due to disputes over the alleged forced declaration of his election, Okorocha was not sworn in until June 14, 2019.
^Shekarau was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the NNPP in May 2022 then to the PDP in August 2022.
^Babba Kaita was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in April 2022.
^Aliero was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in May 2022.
^Abdullahi was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in June 2022.
^The PDP's Dino Melaye was elected senator in 2019 but Adeyemi petitioned against the results and the NASS Election Petition Tribunal annulled the results and called a new election. Adeyemi won the ensuing rerun election and took office in December 2019.
^The APC's Adebayo Osinowo was elected senator in 2019 but died in June 2020. Abiru won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^Akwashiki was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the SDP in July 2022.
^The APC's David Umaru was elected senator in 2019 but the Supreme Court awarded the APC primary win to Musa making him senator. He took office in July 2019.
^Balogun was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in May 2022.
^The APC's Ignatius Datong Longjan was elected senator in 2019 but died in February 2020. Daduut won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^The APC's Abubakar Shehu Tambuwal was elected senator in 2019 but a Court of Appeal awarded the win to Abdullahi Danbaba. He took office in November 2019 as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in April 2022.
^Bwacha was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in February 2022.
^ abcPrior to inauguration, the APC's Zamfara votes were voided due to improper holding of party primaries. Thus the PDP runners-up took office. All three (Anka, Hassan Muhammed Gusau, Yaú) switched to the APC in June 2021. In February 2022, Muhammed Gusau resigned to become Zamfara Deputy Governor.
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