Lagos Assembly: Sanwo-Olu claims innocence as Obasa impeached for alleged fraud

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, distanced himself from the impeachment of the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

Sanwo-Olu’s Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, in an interview, described Obasa’s impeachment as strict legislative affair devoid of politics or the state government’s influence or interference.

“It is purely a legislative matter and the Assembly handled it the best way they could. It has nothing to do with the governor,” Akosile simply said, citing separation of powers in the constitution, the Executive, Legislative, and the Judiciary.

Details surrounding the Speaker’s removal remain unclear as of press time. It was, however, learnt that members of the Lagos State House of Assembly sacked Obasa over multiple allegations including misconduct, abuse and financial misappropriation.

The Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, was also suspended indefinitely, while the Chief Whip, Mojeed Fatai, was elected the new Deputy Speaker.

The House has not issued a statement on the development.

Multiple sources confirmed that the lawmakers removed Obasa during a sitting on Monday after 90 per cent of the House backed the motion.

The Deputy Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, was subsequently sworn in as the new and first female Speaker of the Assembly.

In a viral video seen online, a lawmaker, flanked by other members of the Assembly, said, “It is only death that is constant, so change is inevitable. Members of the parliament today have decided to change the leadership of the House. The Constitution makes it clear that the House has the power to regulate its proceedings.

“The members of the House felt we had had enough of the leadership of Mudashiru Obasa. We unanimously agreed that Hon. Mojisola Meranda would become the new Speaker and Hon. Fatai Adebola would be the Deputy Speaker. It was a resolution concurred by all members of the parliament. As we speak, all principal positions and standing committees of the House have been dissolved.”

Obasa’s Chief Press Secretary, Eromosele Ebhomele, did not respond to calls or text messages regarding the development at the time of filing this report.

On whether the state would be prosecuting Obasa based on the allegations of fraud, Sanwo-Olu’s aide, Akosile, said since it was the Assembly that accused the former Speaker, it was still left to the lawmakers to handle such.

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Report had it that Obasa recently dismissed allegations that the Assembly had spent N17bn on constructing a gate as “spurious and laughable.”

A group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount on the gate and called for an investigation.

At a plenary, the former Speaker denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated.

“It is funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in a whole year for anyone to claim we spent N17bn on a gate? They even alleged that we spent N200m on the recently organised 22nd Thanksgiving Service, which is untrue,” he said.

There are also insinuation that Obasa’s travail may be linked to his touted ambition to become Lagos Governor in 2027.

During the presentation of the 2025 budget to the Lagos Assembly by Governor Sanwo-Olu in November 2024, Obasa said he did not lack the experience to contest the governorship race in the state in 2027, even though he noted that he had not given serious thought about becoming the next governor “as was already being speculated.”

He said, “To the blackmailers who have embarked on the mission to distort and redefine our mission, let me state it unequivocally here, our intention is to promote our party on the platform of mandate.

“Also, becoming governor is secondary; it is something that I have not given serious consideration. Nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack experience to run; whereas, those who have been before me are not better off.”

His comments also came amid speculations that President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi, might be eying the governorship position in the state, a speculation that had been criticised by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

Meanwhile, the APC in the state dismissed speculations of political influence regarding the Speaker’s removal.

The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Seye Oladejo, said on Monday that the development “remains an internal affair of the legislative arm – the Lagos State House of Assembly.”

Oladejo said, “Our party respects the separation of powers. We are not known to unduly interfere in what is an internal affair of the legislature. The party has never been known to unnecessarily interfere.”

On whether the governor had a hand in the Obasa’s sacking, the APC spokesperson dismissed this, saying, “All those things including that he (Obasa) was nursing governorship ambition, those things are speculations and will remain in the realm of speculations until proven otherwise.

“There is no way people will not speculate if they are not in the clear of what actually transpired. If you listen to the reasons of the House, there was nowhere they mentioned the APC giving directives.”

However, the Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Tai Benedict, said Obasa’s impeachment was not unexpected, saying the ex-Speaker’s potential to contest the governorship election in the state was a threat to some cabals.

“We heard it and it’s expected. Number one, you can’t continue to fool people, one day the truth will be revealed. Obasa, to the best of my knowledge, is a Lagosian and I believe that because he is interested in the governorship of the state, that is the beginning of the whole episode.

“As a Lagosian, they know he has that ticket. They know he can and if he wins, as a true Lagosian – if you look at all the people that contested the governorship since the era of Tinubu, none of them is a pure breed Lagosian. By the time we get somebody who is blood and water Lagosian, a lot of things will be revealed.”

On the allegations against Obasa, the PDP chieftain said, “These financial allegations came up overnight. The system of the Nigerian government is what we are seeing. I don’t want to say it’s a lie but if he’s in their good book, as of today, he will be covered as usual.”

The state Secretary of the Labour Party, Sam Okpala, said the party was watching closely as it wanted the APC to “deal” with itself.

“The impeached Speaker is not a member of our party, the Labour Party. We have just a member in the Lagos Assembly. We are watching the development in the Assembly; we are watching the development in the APC. We want the APC to deal with themselves.”

A three-term ex-member of the state Assembly, Muyiwa Jimoh, said during his time, members had always attempted to point Obasa’s shortcomings to him.

According to him, Obasa’s impeachment was long overdue.

“I was Deputy Majority Leader when he was made the Speaker in 2015. I was serving during his tenure and when he was re-elected we saw his shortcomings and other infractions but as a trained leader, we attempted to show him his lapses and also speak to him to ensure that the errors were corrected going forward to move the Assembly and the state forward.