The Lagos State House of Assembly has said it will meet to take a position on the court judgment nullifying the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker on January 13, 2025.
The spokesperson for the House, Olukayode Ogundipe, in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, emphasised that the lawmakers valued court pronouncements.
“We are yet to schedule a meeting to take a position on the court judgment but we are a House that values court pronouncements and rulings,” Ogundipe said in a text while responding to question from our correspondent seeking the House’s reaction.
Justice Yetunde Pinheiro of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja had on Wednesday awarded N500,000 in damages to Obasa, declaring his removal as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly unlawful and unconstitutional.
While delivering the judgment, the court ruled that the proceedings and resolutions of the House on January 13, which led to Obasa’s removal, were invalid.
The judge held that the sitting was illegally convened while the House was on recess and Obasa was out of the country.
Obasa had sued the House of Assembly and Mojisola Meranda, who was installed as the new Speaker, challenging the legality of his removal.
In the suit filed on February 12, 2025, through his counsel, Chief Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), Obasa argued that the process violated both the Constitution and the internal rules of the Assembly.
Justice Pinheiro upheld Obasa’s position, and ruled that under Order 7 of the House Rules, only House leaders can request the Speaker to reconvene a sitting.
The court held that the Chief Whip, who initiated the sitting, lacked the authority to do so.
“All steps taken towards reconvening the meeting were invalid. The fact that a majority of members voted was inconsequential,” the court held.
The court noted that under Order 7 of the House Rules, there is a defined hierarchy, and Rule 30, which relates to the authority of the Chief Whip, does not confer such powers on him.
“The defendant cannot validly remove the Speaker without complying with Order 2, Rule 9 of the Lagos State House of Assembly Rules,” the court held.
Justice Pinheiro, therefore, declared the purported sitting of the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, the purported removal of the claimant as Speaker, and the purported installation of the second defendant as illegal, null and void
Earlier, while dismissing the defendants’ preliminary objections for lacking merit, Justice Pinheiro held: “A court of law can intervene where the provisions of the Constitution have not been met during any proceedings of the House of Assembly.”
After the judgment, counsel for the lawmakers, Mr B. N, Chukwu, requested a Certified True Copy of the judgment, so as to study it and advise his clients on the next move.
Meanwhile, Obasa has described the ruling as a win for the Assembly as an institution.
“This is a victory for the Lagos House of Assembly as an institution and for our current and future members,” Obasa said in a statement by his media office.
He added that the court decision “reinforces the desire for us, as members of the House, to move ahead in unity and harmony and continue to work for the good of our people, our beloved Lagos State, and Nigeria.”
Obasa urged his colleagues to let bygones be bygones and continue working together in peace, harmony, and unity. (Punch)
