Since Rt Hon. Mudashiru Obasa adjourned sitting indefinitely on March 3, following his dramatic return to the Speaker’s seat (49 days after a purported impeachment by majority members), the Lagos State House of Assembly has not reconvened weeks after. According to reports, this is not unconnected with the fact that the political crisis rocking the legislature -and by extension the state, is far from being over.
The ruling of a Lagos High Court last week, nullifying the impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly did not come as a surprise to political actors who had predicted the outcome. There had been reports that Obasa allegedly refused to withdraw the matter from court as agreed during peace negotiations.
Obasa had filed a suit on February 12, 2025, challenging the legality of his removal. He argued that the removal took place while the Assembly was on recess and he was out of the country. Justice Yetunde Pinheiro declared Obasa’s removal illegal and unconstitutional, nullifying the proceedings and resolutions of the House held on January 13, 2025.
Obasa was reinstated following a peace accord initiated by President Bola Tínubu, which involved sending emissaries, including Chief Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, to resolve the crisis. The reconciliation panel reportedly convinced Meranda to resign her position as Speaker after a deal agreed upon by all stakeholders. The agreement reportedly included Meranda’s resignation and Obasa’s resignation after 48 hours to pave the way for a new Speaker from Lagos West. However, Obasa played a fast one by pressing on with his case in court to legally confirm that he was never removed as Speaker.
A pro-Lagos development group, Agenda for New Lagos (ANL), had accused Obasa of planning to use the court to invalidate his impeachment. ANL’s Protem Chairman, Kamal Olorunnisola, claimed that Assembly members were tricked into accepting Obasa’s subsequent resignation after Meranda’s election, which 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 alleged illegalities. That explains why, contrary to the pledge to withdraw his case, it continued. 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.” -the group said in a statement.
Meanwhile, amidst all of this, is Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who allegedly played a role in the assembly leadership saga. Some reports have said that the governor’s fate hangs in the balance as there’s an ongoing move for him to resign over the crisis in the Assembly.
A prominent Lagosian, Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (retd), the Alternate Chairman of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation has in fact, advised the Governor to watch his back.
“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 holding brief for the leader who is currently occupied with nation’s assignment in Abuja.”
“We saw a leader intervening in matter arising from the legislative process in a state”, he said. At the end of the resolution, an indigene, who won a legitimate election as ‘Madam Speaker’ was forced to step down and be replaced.
-additional information from Vanguard.