Between October 2010 and September 2011, Lawal was elevated to the position of executive vice president, public sector North, of First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

[3] Lawal ran for office of the governor of Zamfara State in the APC primary election held in 2018 but lost to Mukhtar Shehu Idris.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Lawal the governor-elect with a total of 377,726 votes to defeat Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who polled 311,976.

[6] In his first year in office, Lawal completed projects in Bakura and Aradun,[7] and in Gummi, Bukkuyum, and Maru Local Government Areas.

[8] Lawal received the FirstBank CEO Merit Award for Outstanding Performance as the "Best Business Development Manager" in 2006 and "The Most Enterprising Staff" in 2009.