The ousted Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, returned to the House in a shocking move on Thursday.
Obasa, who was removed as Speaker by 36 lawmakers on January 13, 2025, came in the company of security officials and made his way into the Speaker’s Office around 9 am.
“Apples Bite Magazine” reports that the move left many political stakeholders and the public in shock as the new turn of events appears to throw the House into more confusion following the leadership crisis that rocked the Assembly since Obasa’s removal and his replacement with Mojisola Meranda, a former Deputy Speaker.
The development also portends that perhaps, the intervention of key chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, notably former governors of Osun and Ogun states, Chief Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, respectively, did not resolve the crisis.
It was learnt that Akande and Osoba alongside Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and other party bigwigs met with members of the Governance Advisory Council at Marina and also met with lawmakers of the House in a bid to find solution to the Assembly crisis.
It was gathered from GAC members at the meeting that the mediating panel, drafted by President Bola Tinubu, recommended the resignation of Obasa after his return, and that Meranda should also step down to pave the way for another lawmaker from Lagos West Senatorial District to emerge as Speaker.
However, tables turned on Thursday when security officials attached to Meranda were abruptly withdrawn with Obasa getting new security escorts.
Meranda’s security officials were restored later in the evening, according to the Lagos State Police Command, which confirmed this during a press conference.
A source in the Assembly also confirmed the restoration.
The Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Moshood Jimoh, cited personnel audit as the reason for the withdrawal.
“As we speak, as I speak with you, the audit of the police personnel attached to Hon. Mojisola Miranda has been completed, and the form-armed police personnel attached to her from the Nigeria State Police Command have been returned to her for her protection,” the commissioner said on Thursday evening.
“It is pertinent to state that the ongoing police personnel audit has been on for several days now, and prominent personalities and individuals have been complying with the process. The exercise, once again, is not aimed or targeted at any individuals,” he said.
The police command stated that Obasa had also applied to request security protection due to alleged threats to his life.
The police countered the speculation that the ousted Speaker’s security detail was restored to facilitate his return to office.
In a statement signed by the command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, he stated that there was “an application from Hon. Mudashiru Obasa on threats to his life and that of his family in the last few days, and it was on that basis that police personnel were assigned to him for protection only.”
The command maintained that it was “not aware of, nor involved in, how or when the office of the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly was broken into.”
He emphasised the police’s neutrality in the ongoing developments, saying, “The Lagos State Police Command remains neutral in this matter and is committed to maintaining law and order, as well as ensuring public safety and security across Lagos State. We will not relent in this duty.”
The command further appealed for calm, urging residents to go about their lawful activities peacefully.
Lawmakers reject Obasa
Following Obasa’s entry into the Speaker’s Office on Thursday, 36 lawmakers gathered to register their displeasure at a media briefing.
The spokesperson for the House, Olukayode Ogundipe, flanked by other pro-Meranda colleagues, said they were in shock and embarrassed by the development.
“We are shocked to see what is happening today and we are still expecting them (party leadership) to come and tell us where we went wrong. We won’t take laws into our hands, just like I told the staff members. But we all belong to different constituencies and we have our mandate and whatever happens, the leadership should speak with us and not this charade that we are seeing.
“We are not happy and we are already demystified. We’ve been law-abiding, we’ve not gone out of our ways, we’ve not done anything against the state or anybody but we also want to be respected, to be given our dignity, to be shown that we were elected. So, I’m appealing to the leadership of our party that we cannot continue this way.
“What we’re seeing today is an embarrassment because for me to even enter the gate, I was stopped and told by security operatives that I couldn’t enter the House of Assembly. It’s an embarrassment and this must stop.
“We are not against the leadership’s decision, but they should call us and tell it to our face and not us hearing rumours. We are not against the leadership position, they nominated us and we still stand by their decisions but not to do it this way; we are embarrassed,” Ogundipe said.
Shortly after Ogundipe’s address, the lawmakers chanted: “We hereby reject Obasa, we reject him in totality!”
I remain Speaker – Obasa
While addressing the press at the Assembly complex, Obasa said he still remained the Speaker.
“I’ve never been removed, there is nothing like impeachment. Impeachment or removal or what is it called is undemocratic and unconstitutional, and in doing that, you must follow due process,” he said.
During an interview on TVC, Obasa said Meranda had been his colleague and friend.
“She has been my deputy, we’ve been together for almost 10 years now.
“If our colleagues pass a vote of confidence in her, they have not done anything wrong. Such has been done to me repeatedly in this Assembly,” he said when asked to react to his colleagues’s support for Meranda.
He also debunked rumours suggesting he resigned as Speaker of the House.
“I still remain the Speaker of the Assembly. If we make laws for the people of Lagos then we should be able to respect our law as well and rules. The only thing in question is that I’m not against removal, it’s constitutional, but you must comply with the provisions in the Constitution and rules of the House,” he said.
Obasa holds plenary
It was learnt that Obasa presided over a four-man plenary and adjourned the sitting indefinitely.
When asked why he presided over a four-man plenary, he said, “Ask them, how many of them are in the House? You should understand something about the House: You cannot force people into the plenary, but if they say four, where are the rest of them? How many of them were around this afternoon when we were having the plenary? How many of them?
“The most important thing is that we had our plenary and we adjourned sine die (indefinitely). If you want to know the number of people in attendance, we will make that public in a few hours.”
Obasa also denied ruling like an emperor.
“In a democratic setting, is it possible to have an emperor?” he queried.
Speaking on whether the leadership crisis had divided the APC in Lagos, Obasa said, “No, that’s wrong. The APC is a one-party in Lagos under the same roof. We are one and together. We’ve always been like that; our party is not divided. We’re together under the chairmanship of Cornelius Ojelabi, the state chairman of the APC, and we have our leaders, our fathers in the GAC. So, we’re intact; there is no division. There is no crisis in the Lagos Assembly; it’s a minor misunderstanding.”
When asked if his recent strides and the Assembly crisis were linked to his governorship ambition, he said, “Governorship! It has nothing to do with it. I have said it, it is not in my consideration. I said it during the budget presentation but that does not mean I’m not qualified. So, we are not talking about governorship; the issue of governorship is secondary.
“Our governor in Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who has been doing well, still has about two and a half years to go. Why will a reasonable human being be thinking of becoming governor now?”
Obasa also denied using his relationship with President Bola Tinubu to silence critics, saying, “How many people have I silenced? If you’re alleging, you should be able to prove it. I’m from Agege and I’ve always reduced myself to a political figure (sic) in Agege. So, if anybody is saying anything, you should know that people will always talk. So, whatever they say, it doesn’t matter, but the fact is very important.”
Court hears today
Meawhile, the legal team of Obasa has said they are ready to proceed to the court today (Friday) to pursue the case of their client against the Assembly and Meranda.
Obasa had earlier this month dragged the defendants to the Ikeja State High Court to challenge his removal as Speaker.
His counsel, Chief Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), told The PUNCH on Thursday that, “Let me say again that we have not been debriefed and we have not been informed of any contrary development. For us as lawyers, we will be in court until we are debriefed.”
Meranda kicks
In a statement, Meranda’s aide, Ganzallo Victor, said the actions that happened on Thursday were tied to the ongoing internal power struggle regarding the removal of the former Speaker.
“Speculation suggests that this latest move is aimed at weakening the current leadership and creating instability within the Lagos State House of Assembly.
“We demand an immediate clarification from both the police and the state government on their roles in these actions. The absence of security for those in leadership positions raises serious questions about the safety and protection of public officials in Lagos. If such intimidation can occur at the highest levels, what protection is there for the ordinary citizens of Lagos?
“This situation must not be allowed to stand unchallenged. We call for a full investigation into these actions and demand accountability from all involved parties,” Ganzallo said.
He added, “It is important to stress that Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda was duly elected by her colleagues, and her leadership was reinforced with a strong vote of confidence. The timing of the withdrawal of security, combined with the hostile actions of the former Speaker and his associates, raises the question: Is this politically motivated, or is this part of a larger strategy to destabilise the current administration?”
Meranda aides earlier in the day accused Obasa of breaking into the Assembly with armed thugs and security officials.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.
