Farouk Lawan has lost his bid to return to the House of Representatives, after suffering a defeat in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency in Kano State.
Mr Lawan, who completed a five-year prison sentence for bribery in 2024, lost to the incumbent lawmaker, Yusuf Badau, in a keenly contested primary election.
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Why Mr Lawan contested the primaries
Once a highly influential lawmaker nicknamed “Mr Integrity,” Mr Lawan chaired the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy fraud in 2012.
His reputation imploded when billionaire oil magnate Femi Otedola accused him of demanding a $3 million bribe to remove Mr Otedola’s companies (Forte Oil and Zenon Oil) from the list of firms indicted for subsidy fraud.
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Mr Lawan was caught on camera accepting a $300,000 cash advance of the bribe.
Mr Lawan was later convicted on a three-count charge of corruption and sentenced to seven years in prison by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
The Court of Appeal discharged him on two counts but upheld his conviction on the remaining count, reducing his sentence from seven to five years.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria dismissed Mr Lawan’s final appeal for lacking merit, affirming the five-year jail term.
He was released in October 2024, having completed his custodial sentence at the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja.
Under Section 107 of the Nigerian Constitution, convicted individuals are barred from contesting elections for 10 years post-conviction.
Mr Lawan’s political aspirations seemed entirely dead until October 2025 when President Bola Tinubu, acting on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy and with the approval of the National Council of State, granted Mr Lawan a presidential pardon.
The presidency noted that Mr Lawan and a few other convicts were pardoned because they had “demonstrated sufficient remorse” and were deemed ready to fully reintegrate into society.
The pardon wiped away his legal disqualifications, allowing him to byepass the 10-year election ban.
The primary elections
The APC’s spokesperson in Kano, Auwalu Soja, disclosed the outcome of the exercise in a recorded audio message to journalists in Kano.
READ ALSO: Shekarau emerges APC consensus candidate for Kano central district after governor’s intervention
According to Mr Soja, the party adopted consensus arrangements in 20 federal constituencies, while four constituencies proceeded to primary elections after several aspirants declined to step down.
“So far, 20 contestants have agreed to consensus arrangements, while only four constituencies proceeded to primary elections,” Mr Soja stated.
Mr Soja added that the consensus arrangements enabled most serving lawmakers to secure return tickets.
Popular among those returned through consensus are House Leader Alhassan Doguwa, Abubakar Bichi, and Abdulmumin Jibrin, representing Tudun Wada/ Doguwa, Kiru Bebeji and Bichi federal constituencies, respectively.
He revealed that Hamisu Chidari secured the party’s ticket for a third term in the Dambatta Federal Constituency, while Mustapha Bala clinched the ticket for the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency.
In the Madobi/Garun Mallam Federal Constituency, Mr Soja said Sulaiman Ishaq also emerged as the party’s candidate.
Mr Soja noted that the primary elections were conducted peacefully across the state.
“The exercise was conducted in a mature and peaceful manner. There were no security challenges throughout the process,” he stated.
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