As the 8th National Assembly winds down, it is expected that there would be deft moves on who emerges Senate President in the 9th Assembly, which would be inaugurated in June.
In an attempt to understand the dynamics involved in the emergence of the Senate President, it is expedient to look at the credentials of Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan and how he is a perfect fit for the position, not just on the strength of being one of the highest ranking senators, but also his cumulative legislative experience, his academic qualifications as well as his interpersonal relationships across political divides.
Of those who have signified interest in the Senate presidency, Lawan stands out in all ramifications. He was first elected senator in 2007, after serving as a member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been in the Senate and has garnered over 19 years’ legislative experience in both chambers of the National Assembly. 
In 2008, he was a member of the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Constitution Review. A year later, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts. He initiated and sponsored the Desertification Control Commission Bill, among a host of others.
Lawan’s robust contributions in the Senate chamber have not gone unnoticed, even among his peers. For example, Lawan chaired the committees on Education and Agriculture, where he tasked agencies of government on accountability and prompt project delivery.
His colleagues would attest to his avowed commitment to delivering on oversight duties when it mattered most, especially during his eight years in the House of Representatives and still counting, even in the Red Chamber, where he previously held sway as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Defence.
Senator Lawan, 60, who represents Yobe North senatorial district, holds a doctorate degree in Remote Sensing/GIS, from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom. He has never worked outside the education sector since graduation. He became a graduate assistant at the University of Maiduguri, after he graduated, and retired as an accomplished scholar and educationist before his foray into politics in 1999.
A recipient of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), fellow of the Institute for Government Research and Leadership Technology (2012), Lawan, in 2009, was awarded the Best Performing Senator in Yobe State by Yobe State Students’ Association, University of Abuja chapter. The Nigerian Union of Journalists, among a host of others, also regarded him as the Best Senator for Effective Oversight.
A consummate party man, Lawan, as Senate Leader, introduced debates on issues, motions, and bills presented before the Senate and it can be thus argued that he commands one of the best curriculum vitae among high-ranking senators in the National Assembly.
In so many quarters, it has been put forward that, with Lawan as Senate President, the 9th Assembly would be robust, in terms of legislative functions, relationship with other arms of government as well as the ability to galvanise and strengthen the legislative arm of government for higher productivity.
At a recent event, Senator Lawan was described as a thoroughbred personality who possesses an aura of excellence, a great team player, and a motivator whose leadership style would make the 9th Assembly proactive and exciting. This much was also corroborated by majority of the members of the present 8th Assembly when they overwhelmingly gave him their support to become the Senate Leader.
As Senate Leader, Lawan has brought about orderliness in the Red Chamber, through his foresight and knack for excellence. This much he demonstrated in the days when the relationship between the legislative and executive arm of government went sour. Senator Lawan was able to rally lawmakers across the aisle in the chamber to key into government’s policies and programmes.
Talking about ranking in the Senate, Lawan is the most ranking senator in the chamber. He has also been a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from inception, never prevaricated and has never jumped from one political party to another in his political career.
Lawan has been a progressive in all his years in politics. He is well positioned and suitable to lead the Senate in the 9th Assembly. With these attributes, as a loyal party man who stood up to be counted when it mattered most, his colleagues believe he should be rewarded for his loyalty to his party as one of the very few who stood by the APC when it experienced a wave of defections. Some also aver he should be rewarded for the way and manner he comported himself when he was denied the Senate presidency, even after it emerged he was the party’s favourite for the position, by a group who acted against the interest of the party.
Beyond all these stated facts, Senator Lawan is deserving of the Senate leadership, not just because he is a high-ranking senator, but also because he is the most experienced lawmaker among his peers. This much he demonstrated in 2015 when he said that, for him, service is not personal but for the interest of the country.
It behooves on the party leadership to take advantage of Lawan’s experience in leading the Senate in the 9th National Assembly.
• Etila, an actuarist, wrote from Abuja.