Lagos Assembly Crisis Deepens Despite Tinubu’s Intervention
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.
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.
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 newsmen that he was not aware of such an arrangement in the terms of settlement during the negotiation period by the party.
However, 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.
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Obasa Returns As Lagos Assembly Speaker Following Action-Packed Plenary
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 Newsmen 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.
