Senate President Ahmad Lawal says his people in Yobe State will get “best treatment” so long as he remains in government.

“I appreciate the support over these years, and I want to promise that so long as we remain engaged with the federal government, we will have the best of treatment,” Mr Lawan said at a grand reception in his honour on Saturday in Gashua, his native town.

Mr Lawan shared the statement on his Facebook page on Sunday, thanking the state governor, Mai Mala Buni, for naming the newly constructed Gashua market after him.

Mr Lawan has been at the National Assembly since 1999, first representing the Bade/Jakusko federal constituency for eight years before switching to the upper chamber. He became the President of the Senate in 2019.

The Senate President aspired for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress in June but lost to former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu.

Mr Lawan’s attempt to settle back into the Senate race after his failed presidential bid has suffered a setback as the winner of Yobe North Senatorial District Bashir Machina refused to withdraw for him.

In June, the Independent National Electoral Commission affirmed Mr Machina as the winner of the ruling All Progressives Congress primary for the Yobe North Senatorial District.

A certified true copy of INEC’s report from the May 28, 2022, election showed Mr Machina scored 289 votes out of 300 delegates, corroborating the politician’s public claim that he won the primary and legally emerged candidate.