The political crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly may not be over despite Monday’s return of Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa to his seat as Speaker, having been removed by an overwhelming members on 13 January.
Although Hon. Mojisola Meranda, who presided as Speaker at plenary on Monday, resigned her position, and was later re-elected Deputy Speaker, the re-election of Obasa as Speaker is raising concerns.
During the mediation by leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), including the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) and some former governors, it was said to have been agreed that Obasa would return to his position as Speaker and thereafter resign to allow another member from Lagos West senatorial district to replace him.
Concerns had been raised about the legality of removing Obasa as Speaker while the House was on recess, and the zonal imbalance created by Meranda’s election as No. 1 lawmaker in the state. She is from the same Lagos Central senatorial district as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. With Lagos East having produced the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the arrangement meant that Lagos West senatorial district, which has the largest voting population in the state, will be out of the power equation.
Meranda kept to her side of the bargain, returned to the seat of the Deputy Speaker. But when Obasa regained his position, he called for indefinite adjournment immediately after his acceptance remarks.
The mediating panel was led by former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande; and former Ogun State Governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba. Part of the resolutions of the Akande-led panel, which met with GAC members, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the lawmakers at the Marina, was for Obasa to also resign after being re-elected as Speaker.
In a telephone interview on Monday, a member of the GAC, Chief Muraina Taiwo Taiwo told The PUNCH that it was left for Obasa to resign or not, adding that the party was, however, in support of his return to the House as Speaker.
He further said: ‘The whole party is in support. You can see the resignation address of the former Speaker. She did it wholeheartedly and she abided by the decision of the party’.
Last month, Taiwo had said that ‘the APC leaders, including Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Olusegun Osoba, came to mediate.
‘They will go back to Abuja to brief our leader (President Bola Tinubu) how they feel about everything. They are suggesting to Speaker Obasa that he should step down and the other woman (Meranda) to also step down and they will bring in another new person.
‘They are thinking of submitting a few names but all will land at the table of the leader’.
Another top source in the APC in the state had also said: ‘Meranda will step down and Obasa will also step down. They will now pick someone else from Lagos West.
‘Lagos West is the largest senatorial zone in Lagos. The lawmakers seem to have agreed, otherwise, there won’t be peace.
‘Part of the understanding is that the case the man (Obasa) took to court, he will withdraw it as well’.
However, it is not certain if the resolution still subsists, or if Obasa would resign anytime soon.
APC Chairman in the state, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi also expressed satisfaction with the resolution of the House leadership crisis.
On the resolution for Obasa to resign, Ojelabi said: ‘That (the current situation) is where the party resolved it for now. That’s where we resolved it’.
When quizzed further if Obasa would no longer be resigning, he said: ‘No, that’s where we resolved it. We just want peace in the House generally.
‘The kind of harmonious relationship that existed among them before in the House, we want to try as much as possible to bring it back’.
At the plenary on Monday, other principal officers elected under Meranda also resigned from their positions, including Deputy Speaker, Hon. Mojeed Fatai; and Chief Whip, Hon. Okanlawon Sani.
Before the development, Obasa, Meranda and all the lawmakers had met with APC leadership in the state, led by the state Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi.
The state Attorney General, Mr. Lawal Pedro, was also at the meeting held outside the Assembly chamber, before the plenary where Meranda officially resigned while presiding over the session as Speaker.
In her resignation speech, Meranda stated that her decision was made in the interest of democracy and to prevent further crises within the Assembly.
She emphasised that leadership required selfless sacrifice and that stepping down was necessary to maintain stability.
She said: ‘I wish to let every one of you know that I have made a personal sacrifice towards resolving the leadership crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly.
‘I recognise the role my family has played and continues to play in entrenching democracy, good governance, and the betterment of our people.
‘I will never depart from the well-established path of honour, dignity, integrity, and service as personified by my late father’.
The first female to emerge Speaker of the Assembly added: ‘I took this decision carefully and with firm consideration.
‘On one hand, I accepted the position of Speaker on 13 January 2025, and on the other hand, I resigned the position as it is threatening the democracy of this House.
‘I am not a quitter; however, I took this bold decision in order to save this legislative institution from further unnecessary conflict and embarrassment.
‘Accordingly, I have agreed to yet again make a personal sacrifice by stepping down as the Speaker of this great Assembly’.
According to Meranda, the party is supreme.
‘I sincerely thank you for your understanding and support, just as we know that party decisions are supreme’, she said.
Obasa, who took a fresh oath of office as the Speaker, pledged to Lagos residents that the assembly would continue to make laws for the progress of the state.
He appreciated the intervention of Akande and Osoba in resolving the crisis.
He said: ‘We want to assure Lagosians that we have resolved and determined to serve their interest and protect their interest always.
‘Our major responsibility is to represent them and that’s what we have been doing.
‘What is happening here today shows that the Lagos State House of Assembly is capable and is a House of integrity. It is a house that has an internal mechanism to resolve issues in the interest of the institution and our party.
‘Today is not the day for speech making but to celebrate my colleagues and thank them for all they have been doing. I am sure we will continue to work together in peace, love and harmony’.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Hon. Seye Oladejo, the state chapter of the APC congratulated Lagosians, members of the Assembly and general members of the APC for finding an amicable solution to the rift within the House of Assembly.
Oladejo said that the crux of the disagreement, which had been mainly to draw the attention of the public and the party to intractable internal issues, ‘stretched the well-tested and trusted internal conflict resolution mechanism of the party’.
He said: ‘As a truly democratic party, we refrained from needless interference in the affairs of the legislature whose independence we hold in high esteem.
‘However, the House deferred to the party when the conflict festered and defied all suggestions for settlement.
‘We want to put it on record that the members of the House officially briefed the party about the untoward development and requested wise counsel from the party just a few days ago’.
He said the party met with all the members and proffered practical solutions which were sacrificial, stabilising and in the best interest of the state.
‘You may wish to note that our role remained basically advisory and could only be binding if upheld in the hallowed chamber of the House of Assembly’, he added.
