Former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan, is seeking a return to the National Assembly ahead of the 2027 general elections, after being convicted of bribery and granted a presidential pardon by President Bola Tinubu.
Naija News reports that Lawan’s renewed political ambition comes after a legal battle lasting more than a decade over his involvement in the 2012 fuel subsidy bribery scandal.
Lawan had chaired the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the multi-billion-naira fuel subsidy regime at the time.
He was accused of demanding a $3 million bribe from billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, to remove Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited from the list of firms indicted by the committee over alleged fuel subsidy fraud.
The former lawmaker was later convicted in the bribery case and served a prison sentence before receiving a presidential pardon and clemency in October 2025 after completing his five-year jail term in 2024.
Having regained his civil and political rights, Lawan, who previously represented the Bagwai/Shanono Federal Constituency in Kano State, has successfully passed the screening process of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and emerged as the preferred candidate of party stakeholders from the Bagwai and Shanono Local Government Areas.
Recall that Lawan had, in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, expressed heartfelt gratitude to the president.
He stated that the experience taught him valuable lessons about life and destiny.
He said, “When someone goes through a trial and Allah grants a chance for pardon, you must be thankful. My family and well-wishers across the world were all filled with joy when the news broke.”
He added, “It was indeed a day of thanksgiving to Allah, for He made it possible, and to President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for doing what is right, something worthy of commendation.”
