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LAGOS ASSEMBLY CRISIS: TINUBU, APC LEADERS SETTLE ON REMOVAL OF OBASA, MERANDA
After several weeks of back-and-forth and despite an ongoing court case regarding Mudashiru Obasa’s removal as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, President Bola Tinubu and some top leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) reached a political solution over the issue, which is seen as favourable for everyone involved, as both the impeached Speaker and the current Speaker will be removed.
According to Arise TV, it was reported that sources close to the president revealed that Tinubu met with several important party leaders, including former APC national chairman Chief Bisi Akande, former Ogun State governor Olusegun Osoba, Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake, and a former Lagos State commissioner whose name was not revealed for political reasons.
Before the meeting between the president and party leaders, another well-known and elderly figure from the South-West (whose name was kept secret) also met with the president. During this meeting, he requested that the president address the issue of the Lagos Assembly as his birthday gift.
It was reported that the president had several discussions with different people about the Lagos Assembly crisis. Each person analyzed the situation and warned that letting the conflict escalate further could cause more harm, even though some damage had already been done. With this in mind, the president and his party leaders decided that Obasa’s removal was final and there was no going back, as the laws governing the Assembly were clear about how a speaker could be elected or removed, and Hon Meranda will also be removed and replaced by someone else.
One of the key points raised during these discussions was that nearly everyone who had spoken on the matter criticized Obasa’s leadership and conduct during his time as Speaker. It was pointed out that 37 out of the 39 Assembly members had spoken negatively about him. In addition, political leaders in Lagos also expressed disapproval, and many of them agreed that it would be politically dangerous to reinstate him. They felt that doing so would go against the public opinion and could harm the president’s credibility.
Given these arguments, the president decided that Obasa’s removal would stand. However, there was a suggestion to help him preserve his political future by offering him a soft landing. This meant that instead of a direct removal, Obasa would be asked to resign, similar to the way the former Deputy Speaker, Hon. Funmi Tejuosho, had been allowed to resign rather than being removed.
More information made it known after Obasa resigns as Lagos Speaker, Hon. Mojisola Meranda will vacate the position as well.
