- Meet the New Senate President, Ahmed Lawan
The New Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, graduated from the University of Maiduguri where he studied Geography.
Lawan, 56, later proceed to the University of Cranfield in the United Kingdom for his postgraduate diploma in land survey and went on to do his MSC and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) in the same University.
He did his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme in Benue State.
Lawan, who has never worked outside the educational sector, became a graduate assistant at the University of Maiduguri after his studies and retired as an accomplished scholar and educationist before he joined politics.
The new Senate President currently represents Yobe North Senatorial District in the National Assembly.
He has been a member of the parliament since the return of democracy in 1999. He was elected a member of the House of Representatives in 1999 and did two terms before he contested for a Senate seat in 2007. He has since been a member of the Upper Chamber.
Lawan is the most experienced Senator among the ruling party, All Progressive Congress, lawmakers with numerous awards to his name.
Some of his awards are National Honours Award of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON); Fellow of the Institute for Government Research and Leadership Technology (2012); Best Performing Senator in Yobe State in 2009 by Yobe State Students’ Association, University of Abuja Chapter; Best Senator for Effective Oversight, NUJ; Best Senator in 2011 by Baseline Global Ventures; and the Sardauna Legendary Pillar of Exemplary Leadership Award by Leadership and Role Model Foundation of Nigeria.
The new Senate president is married with children.