Mudashiru Obasa, the impeached long
serving speaker of the Lagos State House
Assembly has been in the news for the
wrong reasons lately.
First is his disrespect for the office and person of the Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwolu. Obasa humiliated the governor on the occasion of the presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the Assembly. Obasa kept the governor and his entourage waiting for about five hours before commencing sitting.
The longest serving Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly also failed to apologize to the governor and the retinue of party leaders who had come to grace the occasion. He instead launched into a tirade on matters of his governorship ambition against the mood and purpose of the event.
Mojisola Lasbat Meranda
Irked by his recalcitrant behaviour, the party leaders approached President Tinubu during his end of the year break in Lagos with the speaker in attendance. News has it that the President's son, S'eyi Tinubu happened on the meeting and asked his father the reason for having the party hierarchy in form of the Governor Advisory Council if every matter had to be refer to him.
It seems the Council members took a que from that subtle reference to their redundancy and orchestrated Obasa's exit.
While the erstwhile Speaker was away on the 13th of January, his colleagues, exercising their constitutional right of choosing and removing their principal officers, eased him out and his former deputy, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda was installed as the substantive Speaker. It was reported that 37 of the 40 members voted to remove the Speaker citing gross misconduct and financial improprieties.
Many thought the matter would end there. However the former Speaker is not taking it laying low. Obasa has been throwing tantrums and continues to refer to himself as the Speaker. He denied all allegations of financial improprieties against him. He also deemed his removal unconstitutional saying he should be present at the sitting. But legal experts have faulted his position citing relevant laws and sections of the Constitution that empower the members to elect and remove their principal officers.
Expectations of political pundits were that the impeached speaker who has been a member of the Assembly since 2003 would know better and defer to the Council or at best recourse to President Tinubu who has been the political leader of the State since 1999. But Obasa will have none of that. He is intent on mudslinging everyone remotely connected with his impeachment. At the Speaker Lodge in Ikeja GRA where he addressed his followers, he shaded the state police commissioner for leading a team of policemen to the Assembly on the day if his impeachment though they were there to ensure peace.
Answering questions from journalists after his speech, he declared,
"My status in the house? I strongly believe I am still the speaker until the right thing has been done. If you want to remove me, remove me the proper way and I will not contest it. I’m a Muslim and I believe in fate. But let’s do it the way it should be done.”
Obasa was a local government legislator before being elected into the Lagos State House of Assembly and eventually becoming Speaker over ten years ago. Political analysts believe he ought to be familiar with the rules. Presiding over a legislative hiuse according to former Senate President Late Chief Evans Enwerem, is an icing on the cake. When answering questions from journalists sometime after his impeachment in 1999, the Chief waxed philosophical and said it was the icing that was removed, he still had his cake.
Obasa should be comforted as he is still a member of the House. Why fight for the icing and lose the cake with it?
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