Dauda Lawal (born 2 September 1965) is a Nigerian banker and politician. He is currently the Executive Governor of Zamfara State.

The governor won the position under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023. He has also served as an assistant general manager in Westex Nigeria Limited.

Dauda Lawal
Dauda Lawal chairing the Zamfara State Security Council meeting in May 2024.
Personal Details
Name:	Dauda Lawal
Born:	2 September 1965 (age 60 years old)
Place of birth:	Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria
Nationality:	Nigerian
Parents:	Alhaji Lawal Muhammad Dare (father)
Education:	Political Science
Alma mater:	Ahmadu Bello University
Occupation:	Politician, banker
Party:	All Progressive Congress
Spouse:	Huriyya Dauda Lawal

Table of Contents

Early Life

Dauda Lawal Dare was born on 2 September 1965 in Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria. His father, Alhaji Lawal Muhammad Dare, was a prominent businessman in the textile industry in Gusau. He is the third child of his parents.

Education

Lawal completed his secondary education at Government Secondary School, Kankia. He holds a B.Sc. in Political Science and an M.Sc. in Political Science/International Relations from Ahmadu Bello University. He obtained his Ph.D. in business administration from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.

After completing his Ph.D program, he further took courses at Harvard Business School, Oxford University Business School, London School of Economics, and Lagos Business School.

Career

Lawal served as a political education officer with the Agency for Mass Mobilization for Social and Economic Reliance in Nigeria. He became an assistant general manager at Westex Nigeria Limited in 1989.

In 1994, Lawal became an assistant consular officer (immigration). He later became the Chief Protocol Officer in the Embassy of Nigeria, Washington, D.C, U.S.

Lawal joined First Bank of Nigeria Plc as the relationship manager in 2003. He also served as a senior manager in the Abuja Area office. He became the Executive Vice President, Public Sector, North of First Bank of Nigeria Plc in 2011 and later the Executive Director in 2012.

Dauda later joined politics. He ran for the seat of Governor of Zamfara state under the People Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023. He won the office of the Governor of Zamfara State.

*Dauda Lawal attending Juma’at Prayers in Mada town in 2024*

Lawal received the Leadership Governor of the Year Award during the newspaper’s annual conference at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.

Lawal is a philanthropist, and through the Dr Dauda Lawal Foundation, he has sponsored many scholarships.

In 2022, he sponsored 120 Zamfara indigenes to study various degrees and master’s programmes at the Iheris University, Togo, through his Foundation.

As the governor, he presided over the Zamfara State weekly Executive Council meeting in July 2025. He renovated the Department of Political Science and International Studies library at Ahmadu Bello University and commissioned it in December 2025.

The governor received the 2025 New Telegraph Outstanding Governor of the Year Awards for his projects at the New Telegraph Awards and dinner night at the Grand Ballroom of the Lagos Oriental Hotel.

The NYSC management also awarded him the Award of Excellence at the 2025 Batch ‘A’ Stream II Orientation Course closing ceremony in Zamfara State.

Lawal defected from the People’s Democratic Party to the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), in March 2026.