Lagos lawmakers reject Obasa
Abdullateef Fowewe
Some members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have insisted that Obasa is no longer the speaker of the assembly.
The spokesperson for the Lagos State House of Assembly, Stephen Ogundipe, while speaking with journalists on Thursday, expressed intense displeasure over the lack of communication from party leaders regarding the unexpected return of the former Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa to the Assembly.
Ogundipe lamented that lawmakers were left in the dark about Obasa’s actions, creating confusion and uncertainty within the legislative body.
He said, “We’re shocked to see what’s happening here today. We expect our leaders, who earlier told us to remain calm, to come and address us and tell us where we went wrong or what really went wrong.
“We won’t take laws into our hands, but we belong to different constituencies and we have our mandates. Whatever is going to happen, the leadership should speak with us and not this charade we’re witnessing.”
He thereby called on the party leaders to take immediate action to clarify the situation, emphasising the need for transparency and a prompt resolution to prevent further chaos.
Ogundipe urged the leadership to address the matter urgently to restore order and ensure that the Assembly functions smoothly in light of the ongoing leadership dispute.
“We are humiliated by this action. I was stopped at the gate from entering the assembly chamber. This is an embarrassment, and it must stop.
“We are not against the leadership’s decisions, but they should call us and tell us instead of hearing rumours. They’re our leaders, we’ll still stand and obey their decisions,” he added.
However, tersely after, the lawmakers chorused, “We reject Obasa in all totality.”
Hullabaloo occurred at the Lagos Assembly on Thursday, after Obasa shockingly showed up and claimed he had resumed as the speaker of the 40-member legislative assembly, Dailyeconomy reports.
Obasa said, “I’ve never been removed. Impeachment or removal is democratic and constitutional but in doing that, you must follow the due process. I am not against that. If I do that, then I am not democratic.”
Dailyeconomy in January, reported that January, Obasa was removed as Lagos speaker when more than two-thirds of the house voted him out over alleged misconduct and sundry offences, and immediately elected Obasa’s then deputy, Mojisola Meranda, as the new Speaker, becoming the first female to take charge of the legislative body in Lagos State.
