President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sent a request to the Senate asking it to screen Balarabe Abbas Lawal as minister from Kaduna.
Lawal, who served as secretary to the government under Governor Nasir El-Rufai, replaces El-Rufai in Tinubu’s cabinet.
His portfolio will be the ministry of environment.
El-Rufai was earlier nominated and screened by the senate. But he was not cleared, over what was called ‘security concerns”.
Tinubu’s letter to Akpabio also included two other nominees for the youth ministry: Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim and and Olawale Olawande.
While Jamila, from Kwara state and a medical doctor, will serve as the minister, Olawande from Ondo State will serve as minister of state.
Balarabe Lawal was born 5th February 1958 in Kachia, Kaduna State.
He was educated at Kofar Kuyambana Primary School from 1964 to 1970.
He thereafter went to the famous Barewa College Zaria from 1971 till 1975. From Barewa, Lawal went to Katsina College of Arts, Science and Technology, graduating in 1978.
He left Katsina to Ahmadu Bello University Zaria to study political science from 1978 to 1981. He also bagged a Masters in political science from the school in 1987.
Post-graduation, Balarabe Lawal was a lecturer at College of Advanced Studies, Zaria, up till July 1989.
He then worked with Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) as Principal Management Development Officer from July 1989 till August 1991.
His next port of service was National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), where he worked from July 1991 to 1999 as Principal Manager (Administration) .
When democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999, Balarabe Lawal first served as Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Education from September 1999 to February 2001. Later, he performed a similar role as Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Army, Ministry of Defence, Abuja from February 2001 to May 2003.
He also served as Special Assistant to the President in FCT and Chief of Staff to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. From July 2003 to July 2007.
Before he was appointed secretary to Kaduna government in 2015, Balarabe Lawal managed his own real estate business Rightedge Property Nigeria Limited. He was secretary to Kaduna government up till 2023 May, when he capped his service with the chairmanship of the transition committee, that ushered in the government of Governor Uba Sani on 29 May, 2023.
