•N7bn SUV contract tears lawmakers apart
•Gen Olanrewaju, Olusi join natives, non-natives controversy
Despite President Bola Tinubu’s last Wednesday peace accord, brokered among two warring parties in the Lagos State House of Assembly, led by Mudashiru Obasa and Mojisola Meranda over speakership tussle, the development has failed to calm high tensions among lawmakers and stakeholders in the state.
Tinubu had, at the end of the meeting, directed aggrieved lawmakers to work with Obasa.
Obasa was ousted as Speaker on January 13, 2025 by about 35 of the 40 lawmakers over allegations of highhandedness, financial misappropriation, and despotic tendencies, among others, and was replaced by Meranda, who was his deputy before the impeachment.
The development generated a lot of conflict putting the House and Governance Advisory Council, GAC, the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, party faithful, supporters, in disarray. The crisis prompted President Tinubu to draft a high-powered committee made up of Chief Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, among others, to finally arrived at a truce.
The panel subsequently, convinced Meranda to resign her position as the Speaker of the House after a deal reportedly agreed upon by all stakeholders who have been mediating to ensure that the crisis was put to rest.
Speculation had it that all the parties agreed on a deal which was for Meranda to resign while Obasa would be returned as Speaker and after 48 hours, would also resign his position. The arrangement, it was learnt, was to pave the way for a new Speaker from Lagos West as demanded by the 34 aggrieved lawmakers.
After the peace deal and Meranda’s resignation, Obasa was subsequently re-nominated for the position of speakership by one of his loyalists in the House, Noheem Adam, a lawmaker representing Eti-Osa 1 and seconded by his colleague, Nureni Akinsanya, representing Mushin 1.
Obasa’s expected resignation
However, Obasa’s attempts to win back the lost loyalty of the aggrieved members hit a brick wall when he called for a truce meeting, a day after he was reluctantly re-elected. The aggrieved lawmakers felt betrayed by his action as they expected him to also tender his resignation in tandem with the agreed structure for settling the Assembly crisis permanently. Obasa’s action opened a kind of cold war in the Assembly which is currently on indefinite recess.
Resignation not part of agreement
Meanwhile, the APC in Lagos has said that the issue of possible resignation by the Speaker was not included in the terms of settlement reached to end the leadership crisis.
The party’s spokesman in the state, Seye Oladejo, told Sunday Vanguard that he was not aware of such an arrangement in the terms of settlement during the negotiation period by the party.
“To the best of my knowledge there was no time the arrangement for Obasa to resign came up in the terms of settlement of the crisis.
“To me, all this struggle is all about instance, before any candidate would emerge there must have been sacrifice by others”, Oladejo stated.
Crisis deepens
The crisis worsened recently following fresh controversy trailing the purchase of alleged N5 billion vehicles for 40 lawmakers by the then Speaker, Meranda, and now deputy Speaker.
The feud between re-elected Speaker Obasa and his deputy has continued to divide the Assembly, setting the two parties on a collision course.
According to reports, Meranda, who presided over the legislative arm for 49 days, purportedly led the purchase of about 39 vehicles for the lawmakers during the period Obasa was removed.
It was learnt that Obasa had in December 2024 approved N7 billion for the same purpose of the vehicles before he was ousted on January 13, 2025.
The crisis further snowballed as Obasa dragged Meranda, 33 Lawmakers and the Assembly to the state High Court, challenging the basis for his removal and other allegations. Amid the legal battle is the contention between the duo over the purchase of the vehicles with money withdrawn from the assembly’s account.
A source who preferred anonymity told Sunday Vanguard that Obasa was contending the purchase of the vehicles without his authorisation as the Speaker and already had his plan of purchasing the vehicles from Dubai having contacted a bidder for the contract.
“He had approved the money before his removal. But Meranda proceeded with buying them, a move that infuriated Obasa,” an aide to Obasa who preferred anonymity confided in our reporter.
When contacted, Meranda’s Spokesperson, Victor Ganzallo, declined to make a comment, promising that an official statement would be issued in due course.
Also, a source loyal to Meranda stated that the first female Speaker only saved N2 billion by purchasing 32 units of 2025 Toyota Prado Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV and seven units of Toyota Landcruiser 2025 at the sum of N5 billion, rather than the N7 billion budgeted by Obasa.
“Unlike Obasa who had planned to import the vehicles from Dubai, all the cars were locally supplied. It is imperative to note that no money was withdrawn by Meranda, she only reviewed an existing approval.
“Interestingly, Meranda spent far less money to acquire better quality cars and didn’t even approve a single one for the office of the Speaker that she occupied,” the source stated.
Obasa’s resignation
A Lagos pro-indigeneship group, De-Renaissance Patriots Foundation, has urged Obasa to step down in the interest of democracy and the rule of law.
The call was contained in a statement by the elders of the group, as a rejoinder to a recent statement by Dr. Muiz Banire, SAN, APC chieftain on the State Assembly crisis and intervention by Chief Bisi Akande-led peace committee.
Our position
“While we acknowledge and commend Dr Muiz Banire, SAN, for his willingness to weigh in on the crisis, we must, however, respectfully correct certain misrepresentations in his submission.
“Banire asserted that Chief Akande and Aremo Osoba were not “busybodies” but were rather invited by Lagos political stakeholders within the ineffectual GAC. However, we must emphasize that their intervention ultimately undermined the democratic aspirations of the Indigenous people of Lagos State,
“The decision to reinstate Speaker Mudashiru Obasa at the expense of Mojisola Meranda, an indigene, effectively disregarded the will of Lagosians from Epe, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos, and Ikorodu divisions, who had overwhelmingly supported Meranda. The intervention of these external figures, therefore, dashed the hopes of Lagos indigenes and will be remembered in history as a betrayal of democratic principles.
“The most honourable course of action for Obasa is to step down in the interest of democracy and the rule of law. Having lost his grip on the Assembly, his continued leadership, enforced by external political forces, constitutes a threat to democratic integrity.”
In a similar incident, a pro-Lagos development group, Agenda for New Lagos, ANL, has raised the alarm over plans to use the court to invalidate Obasa’s impeachment as the Lagos State speaker.
In a statement by its Protem Chairman, Kamal Olorunnisola, the group alleged that the court judgment to make this happen has already been written and will be delivered after hearing the case instituted by Obasa in the heat of his impeachment saga. “Many of the Assembly members were tricked into accepting that Obasa would subsequently resign after Meranda. But unknown to them, it was just a political gimmick. As soon as he was ‘re-elected’ out of damage control, he adjourned indefinitely, obviously awaiting judgment in the case instituted to legitimise the illegalities.
“That explains why, contrary to the pledge to withdraw his case, it continued. They already have the judgment written invalidating the proceedings that removed him. All machinery has been put in place towards railroading the judge.
“Upon given the judgment, obviously wrong in law, Obasa will direct no appeal on behalf of the Assembly while Meranda is already out of the way.
“The import is that he had never been removed while Meranda was never a speaker. The further implication is that the removed clerk will equally return contrary to the resistance of his colleagues, as of right as no valid proceeding would have removed him.”
Sanwo-Olu remains mum
Meanwhile, as the whole scenario is being played out, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, though an interested party in the matter, has not come out categorically to comment despite several efforts by journalists to have his views.
Tinubu’s peace accord
After several attempts by stakeholders, the lawmakers, Wednesday, met with President Tinubu in Abuja, where a truce was reached for the progress of the Assembly, in particular and the State in general.
The meeting lasted over two hours. Tinubu, at the end of the meeting, directed aggrieved lawmakers to bury the hatchet and work with Obasa.
According to a source who were at the meeting, Tinubu blasted Obasa and warned him not to incur the wrath of his colleagues in the discharge of legislative duties.
The source added that the president specifically scolded Obasa, concerning the amended charges in the suit he instituted against Meranda and asked him to withdraw the case immediately.
“Tinubu told Obada that he would not have survived the financial impropriety if the members loyal to Meranda had also released evidence of the fraud he perpetrated to the media.
“He particularly warned Obasa about his bad attitude, disregard for his colleagues and other infractions and assured the members that he would personally ask him to resign and another person will be elected to finish his tenure in office.”
LP blasts APC
Lagos State chapter of Labour Party has described the crisis as a betrayal of the people’s trust and a reckless distraction from the urgent needs of residents. The state’s Chairman, Dr. Dayo Ekong, said, “I express our party’s profound disappointment in the chaos at the Lagos State House of Assembly, where Obasa and lawmakers have turned governance into a spectacle of infighting.
“This disgraceful display by APC-led lawmakers is a betrayal of the people’s trust and a reckless distraction from the urgent needs of Lagosians. “We urge the Assembly to cease this charade and return to work—or step aside for those who will prioritize service over strife. “Enough is enough. Lagos deserves better. “
Rhodes-Vivour too
Also, the 2023 governorship candidate of LP in Lagos, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, condemned the forceful takeover of the legislature and involvement of Tinubu in the saga, describing it as “assault on democratic institutions and the rule of law.” Rhodes-Vivour expressed concern over the development, saying a dangerous precedent was being set. “What we witnessed at the House of Assembly represents a troubling pattern where might is increasingly valued over right. This forceful seizure of the legislative chambers undermines the very foundations of our democracy and sends a disturbing message about how power is wielded in our state.”
Watch your back
The Alternate Chairman of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation and former General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (Retd), said, “Neither rule of law nor political accountability advanced democracy in the imposition of Obasa.
“We saw a leader intervening in a matter arising from the legislative process in a state. At the end of the resolution, an indigene, who won a legitimate election as Madam Speaker was forced to step down and be replaced not through the court system but by a superior higher order.
“In the meantime, I can tell Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to watch his back because he is more possibly going to be the victim of this whole scenario where, by the Abuja action, Obasa has now been crowned as leader of APC in Lagos State holding brief for the leader who is currently occupied with nation assignment in Abuja.”
Indigeneship
Chairman of GAC, Pa Tajudeen Olusi, while expressing his opinion on quest for Lagos special status and the issue of indigeneship recently, retorted, “I am a Lagosian, a proud indigene of Lagos but the issue of Lagos for Lagos does not arise.”
“Then let us come to reality. Today, in Lagos, those of us who are indigenous are just about 30% while the immigrants are 70%. And the immigrants don’t want to go home. So, they are no longer visitors.
(Vanguard)
