A political analyst, Professor Emmanuel Ojo, of the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, warned that the Ex-Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa might suffer “political death” because of his reaction to his removal from office.
He advised the lawmaker to challenge his removal in court rather than engaging in verbal attacks.
Ojo, a former Secretary to the Oyo State Government, argued that in modern democracy, unseen political forces often influence leadership decisions, and the former speaker might have outlived his usefulness to the “powers that be.”
He said, “Majority of the members of the assembly have impeached him (Obasa), whether rightly or wrongly, the best for him is to go to court to prove that he was illegally impeached. A competent court of law may reinstate him; it has nothing to do with talking to the press and whipping up unnecessary sentiment.
“If care is not taken, the man (Obasa) may suffer political death, so it is in his best interest to cool down or go to court, and allow the court to adjudicate rather than talking carelessly, abusing, or insulting everybody.”
Another political analyst, Prof. Hassan Saliu, said the future of the former speaker depends “on the politics on the ground”.
He said, “The man who believes he has not been removed will talk the way he (Obasa) is talking. He cannot install himself back to the seat. It depends on the powerful elements in Lagos politics. The President is the number one person there. There must be something making him have the confidence to come back.”
He further described the removal of speakers in Nigeria as a political manoeuvre.
“The issue is like a coup. The procedures for removing speakers seem too loose and should be revisited,” he added.
Similarly, a legal expert, Malachy Ugwummadu, weighed in on the constitutional aspect of the removal.
“If there is a political intervention in the state House of Assembly resulting in the removal of the speaker, the presumption is that there was regularity in the removal,” Ugwummadu said.
According to him, this does not prevent the former speaker from challenging the decision legally.(Punch)
