As the seventh National Assembly is winding down stylishly, a new parliament is set to be inaugurated on June 4, 2015. This realisation has thrown open leadership tussle in the National Assembly and its attendant challenges, horse-trading and intrigues. Not a few re-elected lawmakers are now in the race to emerge as either the Senate president or the speaker. Unlike in the past, the shocker is that there is paucity of candidates pushing for the positions of deputy Senate president and deputy speaker.

Those who are obviously in the race for the position of Senate president include: Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State who has been in the National Assembly since inception in 1999; Senator Bukola Saraki, former governor of Kwara State and Senator George Akume, former governor of Benue State. They are all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) given the party's majority in both Senate and the House. However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is scheming rather feebly to cash in on the discordant tones evident in the APC to re-launch David Mark as Senate president.

It is however incontrovertible that on all counts - administration, legislative process and action, oversight, plenary session, committee effectiveness, Senate cohesion, consistency and integrity - the out-going Senate president, Senator David Mark evidently gave good account of himself. This understanding makes it imperative for the search for a new Senate president to be intensive and critical. This is instructive because the new Senate should be desirous of a leader who is unblemished, has profound legislative experience tinged with educational sophistication and right disposition to forge a cohesive Senate to be able to consolidate and boost the record set by Mark.

Essentially, a critical assessment of the candidates pushing to occupy the number three seat in the country, Senator Lawan, in all modesty, is most fitting for the job. Apart from untarnished political career, he is the most experienced in legislative business and leadership; a bridge builder, he also boasts of the highest educational qualification with a doctorate degree in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System.

Since the inception of the National Assembly in 1999, Lawan has had unbroken chain of 16 years at the National Assembly - eight years in the House of Reps and another eight years in the Senate. Naturally, this uncommon feat has intrinsically made him to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Nigeria legislature and its legislative process. With his recent re-election into the Senate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress to represent Yobe North, Lawan has another four years of immense experience and thus ought to be elected on merit to competently pilot the affairs of the Senate.

A vibrant, visionary and focused parliamentarian, Lawan came to the National Assembly in 1999 well prepared. Apart from his educational sophistication; from the outset, he had a clear vision of his mission to the parliament which included providing constructive, credible, virile and courageous opposition; holding the executive accountable to the people through effective oversight; ensuring quality representation through regular interface with his constituents and pursuit of better funding of infrastructural development.

Others, however, included ensuring the delivery of qualitative and functional education; stemming the tide of fiscal indiscipline evident in public finance management and appropriation and pursuit of legislation and policies geared towards good governance, peace and the welfare of Nigerians.

He has been able to accomplish these through regular, robust, quality and intellectual contributions during plenary sessions, and committee activities. He also plays leading role during parliamentary caucus meetings. He is one of the key legislators vociferously opposed to extra budgetary expenditure, low level of budget implementation and constitutional breaches especially during the Obasanjo-led government and the arbitrary deployment of soldiers.

Similarly, he added a strong voice and rallied opposition lawmakers against Obasanjo's plot for 3rd term in 2006 and thus contributing largely to the failure of that project. He also moved against President Goodluck Jonathan's administration over the snail pace adopted in grappling with Boko Haram insurgency which hitherto has been ravaging the northeast zone resulting in general insecurity in the country.

As House chairman on Education and later Agriculture, he injected dynamism and parliamentary prowess into the running of the committees. He developed desirable legislative frameworks that brought about unassailable reforms in the two sectors.

Based on the legislative experience he amassed from the House, he was appointed member, Senate ad hoc committee on Constitution Review and has since the past eight years been heading the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, an elaborate committee, critical to all the sectors of the economy.