Barring any last minute changes, re-instated Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa is expected to resign his position as Speaker of the House.
According to sources close to the Lagos State Government this is part of a deal agreed to by the Reinstated Speaker and Mojisola Meranda after interventions by the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) during a meeting held with the Lagos State Governor and members of the State’s House of Assembly.
Mudashiru Obasa who was sworn in yesterday in an unexpected turn in events, after the former Speaker resigned and was later sworn in as Deputy Speaker, put up a fight against his removal from the position of Speaker on January 13, 2025. A list of offenses were leveled against him, including financial misappropriation and misconduct, and he was replaced by Mojisola Meranda. Upon returning from the United States, the former Deputy Speaker contested his removal but the thirty-three lawmakers remained unwavering in their decision despite appeals from chieftains of the APC party.
A mediating panel set up by President Bola Tinubu was tasked with resolving the leadership crisis, but it proved ineffective as the both warring parties —Meranda and Obasa— refused to back down.
Last Thursday, Obasa took matters into his own hands when he stormed the Speaker’s office, accompanied by security officials after according to Meranda’s aide, Victor Ganzallo, security officers assigned to Meranda were recalled by the police command, leaving the Speaker vulnerable.
“We don’t know why the authorities did that, but all the police officers and other security details attached to her have been withdrawn. She’s on her own at the moment,” he lamented.
However, a press conference was held by Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Moshood Jimoh, to clarify the reason for withdrawing security officers.
“As I speak with you, the audit of the police personnel attached to Hon. Mojisola Meranda has been completed, and the unarmed police personnel attached to her from the Nigeria Police Force have been returned to her for her protection,” the commissioner said on Thursday evening.
“It is important to note that the ongoing police personnel audit has been in progress for several days now, and prominent personalities and individuals have been complying with the process. The exercise, once again, is not aimed at any individual,” the police commissioner added.
He also stated that the increased security details provided to Obasa were due to an alleged threat to his life.
Although the lawmakers remain firm in their decision, Obasa is unperturbed and continues to maintain his position as Speaker of the Assembly.
“I’ve never been removed. There is nothing like impeachment. Impeachment or removal—whatever it’s called—is democratic and constitutional, but in doing that, you must follow due process,” Obasa said at the Assembly complex. He added, “I still remain the Speaker of the Assembly.”
After much deliberation, the GAC finally held a meeting on Sunday, March 2, 2025, to resolve the issue plaguing the House of Assembly, it is believed that this meeting determined the fate of Mudashiru Obasa leading to his return as Speaker.
Although there has yet to be a public statement explaining these events, some sources close to the Lagos State Government are insistent that by Wednesday both parties would have resigned, explaining that Obasa’s return was part of the agreement for him to return as Speaker and officially tender his resignation.
However, sources close to the Speaker, Obasa say that he is not going to take that turn as this is his right, and he was removed in an “unconstitutional fashion.”
Sources at the Lagos State Government house also revealed that a new Speaker from Lagos West would be named before the end of the week to end the power struggle and restore order to the Assembly.
For now, Mojisola Meranda has respected the wishes of the plenary committee and has stepped down while Obasa has been reinstated as the Speaker but many doubt the former Deputy Speaker’s compliance to adhere to the wishes of GAC.
