The discord over Obasa’s impeachment as Lagos speaker

On 13th January, 2025, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly swiftly impeached its speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, and appointed the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Mojisola Meranda, as the new head of the state legislature. Obasa’s sack came on the heels of sundry allegations as well as an alleged frosty relationship with the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Obasa has been a long-serving member of the House since 2003 and was elected speaker in 2015. According to reports, the impeachment of the speaker became inescapable after what some of Obasa’s colleagues described as his non-adherence to legislative standards as the major reason, including his arrogant posturing.   

A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Abiodun Tobun, told the media that the change of leadership became inevitable as they “felt they have had enough” of Obasa as speaker. In the plenary session, presided by Hon Meranda, that resulted in the sack of the third-term speaker, Hon. Femi Saheed, who represents Kosofe constituency, moved the motion for the impeachment procedures in which he accused the ousted speaker of abuse of office, including misappropriation of funds and poor leadership that had worked against the unity of the lawmakers.

In a declaration that served as the prologue for drawing the curtain over Obasa’s eight-year headship in the House, Hon Saheed moved for the impeachment of the speaker when he declared, “I hereby move that the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, be removed as speaker of this House for gross misconduct and poor leadership, including high-handedness and disregard for honourable members of the House of Assembly”.

The lawmaker not only accused Obasa of “intimidation and suppression of and inciting members against one another but also the mismanagement of funds and the lack transparency in his management of the House of Assembly funds,” he alleged that the sacked speaker was also engaged in using his position for his pecuniary interests. With the motion unopposed, the impeachment procedures scaled through, thus ending the over eight years of Obasa’s headship of the House that had been accused of spending N17 billion for constructing a gate leading to the Lagos State House Assembly Complex. The Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition is seeking a probe into the cost of the gate construction to avail members of the public of the real cost. However, Obasa quickly dismissed the allegation as not only spurious but also funny. According to him, “It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we spent N200 million on Thanksgiving that did not hold. We are aware that at a period like this, when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared, and I don’t know why.”

Unexpectedly, the Obasa impeachment saga is gathering discordant tunes. Two weeks after his sack, Obasa declared that his impeachment was illegal and that the mace used for the exercise was fake. Current happenings surrounding the change of leadership in the House indicate that the dust over the matter is not yet cleared. The absence of the ousted speaker when the House resumed plenary last week is reflective of the fact that Obasa is yet to surrender to the lawmakers who orchestrated his impeachment.

The insistence by Obasa that he remains the speaker until the necessary legal procedures are followed predicts uncertain days ahead. Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have reaffirmed that the impeachment process was lawfully conducted in line with relevant constitutional provisions. The lawmakers, who issued their position after appearing at the Lagos Command of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Shangisha, declared that their decision was in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and the Powers and Privileges Act.

Anchoring their position on Sections 92 and 96 of the House Rules that outline the procedures for electing and removing a speaker, the members declared: “The Lagos State House of Assembly, as an independent arm of government, exercised its constitutional duty in the best interest of the people of Lagos state. Any attempt to challenge this lawful action undermines the authority granted to us by the Nigerian Constitution”.

There’s no doubt that the storm over Obasa’s removal is not yet over. Nearly a month after the emergence of Hon. Meranda as the new speaker, membership of standing committees that were dissolved are yet to be reconstituted. While groups pitched against each other in the crisis are reaching out to higher authorities for political intervention, legislative duties have been abandoned. What is critical now is that there should be a sort of political resolution backed by legality in resolving this political quagmire the Obasa impeachment is exerting on the political space.

Lawmakers are expected to abide by the rules and not undermine the rules they set for them. However, we are not in support of using unsubstantiated allegations for impeachment purposes. Blueprint calls on critical political stakeholders to resolve the current feud on the basis of legality for which the legislative arm was created.