Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday, said he had not given a serious thought about becoming the next governor of the state as was already being speculated.
He, however, said he is not too young or lack experience to run for Lagos governor, insisting that “those who have been before me are not better of.”
The Speaker said this in his remarks shortly after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu presented the state’s 2025 budget size of N3,005,935,198,401 to the assembly.
Obasa said his primary concern has been to strengthen his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, while the governorship ambition is secondary.
He said, “I have made it a personal task to mobilise people on the platform of Mandate, which has been misconstrued by some political detractors as being a selfish aspiration on the ground for me to become governor of the state. There is the need, however, to correct this wrong impression. My concern is about building our party, and whatever we do is mainly for this cause.
“To the blackmailers who have embarked on the mission to distort and redefine our mission, let me state it unequivocally here, our intention is to promote our party on the platform of Mandate.
“Also, becoming governor is secondary; it is something that I have not given serious consideration. Nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack experience to run; whereas, those who have been before me are not better of.”
The speaker also denied seeking a blood relation in Ojo to validate his candidacy to run as a governor of Lagos.
“In addition, it is also important to correct the impression from some naysayers who have been insinuating that I made payment to seek for blood relation in Ojo to validate my candidacy to run as governor. Of course, I have never denied the fact that I am OBASA.
“But rather, I have never claimed to be related to Onikoyi, Oniru, or any of the other popular Lagos families as the case may be. I can indeed never run from the fact that I am related to my Obasa family in Ojo. But I do not need local validity to contest or run. If eventually I am contesting, I will do so from Agege,” he said.
Obasa noted that the budget was presented at a time complaints by Nigerians about the economy.
He, however, appealed to Nigerians to be hopeful as President Bola Tinubu’s administration works to ensure the nation’s economic recovery.
