Zamfara Guber: Things You Need To Know About PDP’s Dauda Lawal Who Unseated Matawalle

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Tuesday, declared Dauda Lawal as the winner of the Zamfara State governorship election.

Naija News reports that Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) pulled an upset by defeating the incumbent governor, Bello Mohammed Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress(APC), in last Saturday’s poll.

The returning officer for the election Professor Kasimu Shehu, said Lawal scored 377,726 votes in the keenly contested election to defeat his closest rival, Matawalle who polled 311, 976 votes.

Below is what you should know about the new Zamafara governor-elect.

Birth & Education

– Born on the 2nd of September 1965 in Gusau, the capital city of Zamfara State. Lawal obtained both Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Political Science from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Kaduna state. In appreciation of his numerous services to humanity and country, he was awarded the honorary Doctorate Degree by Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto. In similar vein, the IHERIS University of Togo awarded him with another Doctorate Degree. He received the prestigious African Achievers Award in 2021 at the Kensington Palace London United Kingdom.

Career

– After his return to Nigeria in 2003, Dauda Lawal was engaged in Banking, Community service and academic Self-improvement. He attended several courses at home and abroad; the Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, the London Business School, Wharton Business School, Pennsylvania, Oxford University Business School, International Faculty of Finance, London, Fitch Training, London and New York, The Asian Banker, Accenture, Lagos Business School, Euromoney, Ernst and Young among others.

– The governor-elect worked assiduously surpassing his targets regularly. He joined the Board of First Bank in 2012 and until his appointment as the Executive Director, North, he was the Executive Director, Public Sector, North. He was previously Executive Vice President, Public Sector (North), and held several management positions within the bank including Business Development Manager (BDM), Maitama, Abuja, where he grew the bank’s business with the Abuja Metropolis as his principal remit.

– Lawal has over 26 years post qualification experience which covers commercial and public sector banking. Dauda’s dexterity has recorded strong achievements in his present function as executive director. He is a two-time recipient of the First Bank CEO Merit Award for Outstanding Performance as the “Best Business Development Manager” in 2006 and “The Most Enterprising Staff” in 2009.

– He is a fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration of Nigeria, Fellow of the Civilian Institute of Democratic Administration of Ghana, Member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria, African Business Roundtable, and Member of the Institute of Corporate Administration, Nigeria.

– Dauda Lawal spent over 25 years in the banking sector, from scratch to the peak of his career. In 2018, he resigned as the Executive Director of First Bank, the oldest and biggest bank in Nigeria. Lawal’s hard earned money is always channelled in promoting the welfare of others and providing support to public institutions, especially in areas of education.

Philanthrophy

– Lawal’s philanthropic footprints were visible in Federal University, Gusau where he constructed a dual three-and-a-half-kilometers road, and a security gatehouse. He built 350 fully furnished female and 250 capacity male hostels at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Gusau and paid for the accreditation of the school. While in the School of Health Technology, Tsafe, he built a set of well-equipped four blocks of classrooms. He Built several mosques and Islamiyya schools, as well built a modern cemetery equipped with modern facilities within Gusau metropolis.

– Lawal’s intervention is beyond his state Zamfara, he built well-equipped blocks of classrooms at Police College, Kaduna; also built the Police College Friday Mosque and Islamiyya classrooms all in Kaduna. He renovated blocks of classrooms and built a computer lab at Government Secondary School Kachia. He constructed a Juma’at mosque at ITN Zaria, as well as renovated the famous Railway Station Juma’at Mosque in Kaduna State.

– In Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, his alma mater, Lawal built a three-storey building consisting lecture halls and staff offices; donated a brand-new costa bus to the department of Political Science, where he graduated. He also built blocks of classrooms fully equipped at the Faculty of Medicine, Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto.

– Lawal, who obtained his primary education in Guga village, Katsina State, built a standard Primary Healthcare for the town; renovated schools; built a computer lab. He provides portable water for the whole community using motorized borehole through solar.

– On the 30th of January 2022, the Zamfara PDP Candidate, Dauda Lawal sponsored 120 Zamfara indigenes to study various degree and master programmes at the Iheris University, Togo. The 120 scholarships were awarded through Dr. Dauda Lawal Foundation for first-degree and masters’ programmes in various fields including computer engineering, information technology, public administration, international relations, human resources management, and computer science.

Job Creation

– To create jobs and reduce the high level of unemployment in Zamfara State, Lawal established Zam blocks, the largest block industry in the state. He established the Zam rice mills, Azuma water, and Zam agrochemical (the biggest fertilizer blending company in Northern Nigeria). (storeys.com)