The crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly has escalated, with both Mudashiru Obasa and Mojisola Meranda claiming the Speakership. Compounding the turmoil, the Assembly now has two clerks – Ottun Babatunde and the suspended Olalekan Onafeko – each asserting authority, writes GBENGA OLONINIRAN
The leadership crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly has polarised the state legislative arm. At the moment, both Mudashiru Obasa and Mojisola Meranda are laying claims to the position of Speaker of the House.
The imbroglio revolves around the removal of Obasa on January 13, 2025, as Speaker of the House. Thirty-three lawmakers at the sitting on the fateful day removed Obasa and declared a former Deputy Speaker, Meranda, as Speaker.
Though the lawmakers cited abuse of office, financial misappropriations and misconduct as part of the reasons for Obasa’s removal, the decision marked the genesis of the crisis at the 10th Assembly.
Obasa was removed by the lawmakers while he was away in the United States of America. Upon his return to Lagos on January 25, 2025, he faulted his removal.
Despite the intervention of key chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, notably former governors of Osun and Ogun states, Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Olusegun Osoba, respectively, the leadership crisis was not resolved.
The Governance Advisory Council in the state has also been unable to resolve the crisis, with some members believing that only President Bola Tinubu can intervene effectively.
But despite the intervention of the Akande-led mediating panel drafted by Tinubu to resolve the issues, the crisis seems to have worsened. The panel had met with GAC members, party stakeholders in the state and the lawmakers, all to no avail.
Last Thursday, Obasa, who had been absent from the House since his removal, returned to the assembly complex in a shocking move.
The embattled former speaker arrived at the assembly complex accompanied by security officials and made his way into the Speaker’s Office around 9 am.
The move left many political stakeholders and the public in shock as the new turn of events threw the House into more confusion.
Earlier in the day, more security escorts were attached to Obasa by the police, the same morning when police officers attached to Meranda were withdrawn by the Lagos State Police Command.
Some speculators were of the view that the security escorts attached to Obasa on that day aided his entry into the House at a time when Meranda’s security escorts and the police officers attached to the assembly had been withdrawn.
“We don’t know why the authorities have done that, but all the police officers and other security details attached to her have been withdrawn. She’s on her own at the moment,” her aide, Victor Ganzallo, told The PUNCH, lamenting that his principal was vulnerable.
But the police command, later in the evening, held a press conference to clarify the matter.
The newly redeployed Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Moshood Jimoh, cited personnel audit as the reason for the withdrawal of the security operatives.
“As I speak with you, the audit of the police personnel attached to Hon Mojisola Meranda 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,” the police commissioner added.
The police command stated that Obasa had also applied to request security protection due to alleged threats to his life.
In a statement signed by the command’s spokesperson, 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.”
Despite his entry into the office, Obasa has been rejected by 35 lawmakers while four lawmakers held a plenary with him on the fateful day.
“I’ve never been removed, there is nothing like impeachment. Impeachment or removal or what it is called is democratic and constitutional, but in doing that, you must follow due process,” Obasa said at the assembly complex, noting “I still remain the Speaker of the Assembly.”
When asked why he presided over a four-man plenary, Obasa said he could not force any lawmaker to join a plenary. While adjourning the plenary indefinitely, he said, “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?”
Two speakers
At the last plenary held by Meranda as Speaker of the House, she also adjourned the plenary sine die and she is also laying claim to the speakership.
“The situation is now turning to Rivers State where two persons are claiming to be speakers. The matter is still going to be long. Let’s wait and see. It is important to note that Meranda was elected by over 30 lawmakers,” a source close to Meranda, said.
Speaking on the plenary held by Obasa after a court hearing where she and other lawmakers appeared as defendants in the suit brought against them by the removed speaker, Meranda said, “To me, that was just a show of shame. Because in our job, we have numbers that form a quorum. So, if you are sitting with three or four members, you’re only doing a drama.”
Also speaking after the court proceedings, the spokesperson for the Assembly, Ogundipe Olukayode, said the House would reconvene.
“We are 35 as we speak, including Madam Speaker. The House will reconvene. We are consulting with our leaders, and I know the party is also taking steps.”
It is, however, not certain who would first call another sitting of the House.
When asked about this on a TV programme on Thursday, Obasa said, “We adjourned sine die. When you adjourn sine die, it can be tomorrow, it can be next tomorrow. It can be in one week, it can be two weeks. It’s a flexibility of the House to reconvene.
In a post on her X handle on Saturday, Meranda wished Muslim faithful Ramadan Kareem, signing the note as the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Lawmakers didn’t consult party – GAC
The Chairman of the Governance Advisory Council in Lagos State, Chief Tajudeen Olusi, opened up on the assembly crisis.
The APC leader stated on Saturday that the lawmakers had no absolute powers to remove or install their leaders, noting that neither the GAC nor the party was consulted before the lawmakers decided to remove Obasa.
The GAC is the highest decision-making organ of the APC in Lagos.
Olusi told newsmen at his residence in Lagos: “Members of the GAC are not members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to allegedly be behind the removal of Obasa. It can’t be true.
“We read it also that morning. The lawmakers carried it out without consulting the party and those of us in the GAC. That is our position.
“We invited all of them and insisted that all of them are products of the party. They lodged their complaints and we listened to them.
“I blamed them for one thing and that is for not lodging the complaints earlier before the party. It is for the party to decide, they (lawmakers) have no absolute power to remove or install their leaders.
“Nobody can become a member of the House of Assembly unless sponsored by a political party and the sponsors are the inspectors.”
He said the GAC and other party chieftains are still working to resolve the crisis.
Two clerks
Like the Speakership tussle, both Ottun Babatunde and Olalekan Onafeko are laying claims to the Clerk of the House.
Onafeko was suspended by the House on January 13 when Obasa was removed as Speaker. He was replaced by Babatunde by the lawmakers.
Onafeko approached the National Industrial Court in Lagos court to seek redress. In the suit marked: NICN/LA/23/2025, he sought an interim injunction restraining the six defendants from parading any individual, including Babatunde, as the clerk, pending the hearing of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction already filed in the suit.
Granting the application, Justice M. N. Esowe, in an ex parte order directed “That both parties shall maintain the peace and status quo ante bellum until the motion on notice is heard and determined.”
In an advertorial published in the media on February 27, Onafeko informed the public that he was the Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly, in line with the order of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria granted on February 20.
“Consequently, I resumed duties as Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, and hereby as the Accounting Officer of the House of Assembly directed that no further transaction or interactions are undertaken forthwith without my direct authorisation,” he said.
He had also earlier threatened to sue Babatunde for contempt of court.
However, on Saturday, March 1, Babatunde also issued a public notice affirming himself as the clerk.
The notice partly read, “All public institutions, financial institutions, contractors and the general public are hereby advised to ignore all directives, notices and or communications from the suspended Clerk of the House as they are calculated to mislead the public and ridicule the judiciary and truncate the rule of law.
“All dealings with the suspended clerk in respect thereof are to be stopped forthwith until all matters in court are resolved.” (Punch)
