The Lagos State House of Assembly has said it is expecting former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa to resume into the House before it determines the next line of action, including a possible probe.
The spokesperson for the House, Olukayode Ogundipe, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Monday at the Assembly complex in Alausa, Ikeja.
Ogundipe said, “On the other allegations against him, when he is on the ground physically, those ones will be taken care of.
“There are other things we’ve also been hearing about different amounts of money being spent by him. We felt we didn’t know how they got the record of those, but the ones we have, when he’s seated with us, actions will be taken.”
Asked if the Assembly would submit a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe the ex-Speaker, the Assembly spokesperson, representing Oshodi Constituency I, said, “That will be expatiated when he’s on the ground, probably a committee will be set up to look into it or probably it will also be looked at by the leadership of the House.
“Those formalities as per procedures will be followed to the letter. So I’m sure you should expect the House to react to that when the time comes.”
The lawmakers had last week removed Obasa, citing, among other things, corruption allegations.
But Obasa, who spoke publicly on the matter last Saturday, dismissed the corruption allegation raised by the lawmakers.
He also said his removal was unprocedural, insisting that he remained the authentic Speaker.
“If you want to claim that I’m corrupt, please prove it, let us see it,” Obasa told supporters who welcomed him at the Speaker’s Lodge on Saturday.
But speaking with our correspondent on Monday, the House spokesman maintained that Obasa was lawfully removed.
Ogundipe said, “I want to say that the former Speaker, Rt Hon Mudashiru Obasa is still one of us and will continue to remain one of us and the process of his removal was constitutional.
“As I said, the constitution is very clear about the process of bringing him in in case we want to change the guard, that is the same procedure we also used to remove him. The process was duly followed, and the members, we know what we saw, and we intended to change guard and that’s exactly what we did.”
The PUNCH reports that the Assembly failed to hold its plenary on Monday as earlier scheduled.
Security personnel were sighted around and on the Assembly complex’s premises as security was beefed up.
Security officials, including policemen, screened journalists and other individuals attempting to enter the Assembly.
Journalists were lined up at the second gate to the Assembly complex with security officials requesting their identity cards and barring other persons who could not identify themselves.
The heightened security at the Assembly followed Obasa’s comment on Saturday where he claimed to be the Speaker of the House until the lawmakers followed “the right process” to remove him from office.
The former Speaker was removed by a majority of the lawmakers on January 13, 2025, following allegations of misconduct and financial misappropriations.
He was replaced by the former deputy speaker of the House, Mojisola Meranda.
Meanwhile, according to Ogundipe, the plenary was rescheduled to allow for the Assembly members to really settle down and to show that the House was peaceful.
Meranda officially entered the Office of the Speaker on Monday morning, flanked by lawmakers who threw their weights behind her.
Obasa did not show up at the Assembly on Monday even though Ogundipe maintained that “We are also expecting him to be here with us so that they can see it is not about the noise outside, it is a very calm place.” (Punch)
