The nomination and appointment of Lagos State’s former Commissioner for Agriculture, Prince Gbolahan Lawal, as the new Oba-Elect of Iruland (the Oniru-Elect of Iruland) has been approved by the Lagos State Executive Council, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, having satisfied all legal requirements,
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Gboyega Akosile, on Friday, stated that the appointment of Lawal as the Oniru-Elect, which takes immediate effect was made on Friday afternoon, during the State’s Executive Council meeting, where final ratification was made on his nomination.
Lawal, succeeds late Oba Idowu Abiodun, former Oniru of Iruland, who passed on in the year 2019 at the age of 82.
Lawal was born on July 24, 1970, to late Chief T. A. Lawal- Akapo, the Ojora of Lagos (1977-1993), and Olori M. A. Lawal-Akapo.
Gbolahan is a Lagos Prince from the Ojora, Aromire, Shokun, and Abisogun branch of Oniru Royal families of Lagos State.
He holds an Executive MSc in CITIES (LSE, Cities) from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also obtained an MSc in Violence, Conflict, and Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies [SOAS], the University of London in 2008; a BSc Hons. in Botany from the University of Port-Harcourt in 1992 and a product of the famous St. Gregory’s College, Lagos.
He has completed several courses and programmes including the International Housing Finance Program (IHFP) in 2018 and the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA in 2015.
Lawal is also a product of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the World Bank Institute, Washington D.C. In the last eight years, he has been on the board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF).
Lawal started his career as a Scientific Officer with the Raw Materials Research and Development Council at the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology in 1994. He later joined The Nigerian Police Force and was commissioned as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent.
While in the force, he held several duty posts amongst which was serving as an Aide-de-camp [ADC] to the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He retired voluntarily from the Nigerian Police in 2008 as a Superintendent of Police.
Lawal was a Senior Special Assistant on Special Projects to former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). In this capacity, he coordinated the Agriculture-Based Youth Empowerment Scheme (AgricYES). The success of the innovative Agric-Yes paved way for his appointment as the Honourable Commissioner for Agriculture and Cooperatives in Lagos State in 2011.
He was subsequently appointed as the Commissioner for Housing by immediate past Lagos governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, in October 2015, a position he held until May 2019.
In 2019, Lawal was reappointed as the Commissioner for Agriculture in Lagos by the incumbent Governor Sanwo-Olu.
Lawal has won several awards in recognition of his outstanding performance as a state commissioner.
