Obasa Re-elected as Speaker as Meranda Resigns

The leadership table in the Lagos State House of Assembly, turned on Monday as the former Speaker was in a dramatic twist re-elected as Speaker and his Hon. Mojisola Meranda, was re-elected as Deputy Speaker. in a return to the status quo ante.

The plenary session was witnessed by the State Chairman of the APC, Chief Cornelius Ojelabi; former Osun State Governor, Chief Bisi Akande; and the former Ogun State Governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba.

Obasa was returned as the speaker of the house during the plenary session following the resignation of Honourable Mojisola Meranda, who stepped down from the role to return to her former position as the deputy speaker of the house, with immediate effect. 

According to her, despite being the first female speaker of the parliament in the state, the resignation was a personal sacrifice to respect the demands of the supremacy of the political party and the leaders of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State.

The motion for his reinstatement was moved by the lawmaker representing the Eti-Osa constituency and was seconded by the Honourable Nureni Ayinde Akinsaya, from the Mushin constituency, making Obasa be sworn in as the speaker of the house for the second time in the 10th assembly, which was inaugurated in 2023.

Moving the motion, the lawmaker from Eti-Osa said, “I, Honourable Nahim Adams, representing the good people of Eti Osa Constituency 1, rise this afternoon to nominate Rt Honourable Dr Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa to take the chair as the speaker of the prestigious Lagos State House of Assembly. I so nominate,” he said.

Speaking after taking the oath as the speaker of the house, Obasa refused to address the controversy surrounding his removal and his subsequent reinstatement in the house, but he commended the stakeholders in the state for restoring him back to his old seat.

The development comes amid an ongoing power struggle in the Lagos legislative arm, which erupted after Mudashiru Obasa was removed from the top position of the house on January 13th, 2025, after nearly ten years in office, but he was impeached while out of the country.

His impeachment as Lagos speaker was agreed to by more than two-thirds of the 40-member house, who voted him out based on allegations of gross misconduct and financial mismanagement. However, there was an indication that his impeachment was believed to be politically motivated and sanctioned by different layers of the APC’s leadership in Lagos State.

However, upon his return to the state on January 25, 2025, Obasa openly rejected his removal and maintained that he was still the speaker until the lawmakers did the right thing, stating that his removal was like a coup since it was done in his absence. He also denounced the militarisation of the assembly complex during his impeachment proceedings.

 Despite his claim to the speakership of the house, the members of the house insisted that Obasa’s removal was done by the majority of the house, thereby making their decision legal and not to be rescinded.

On February 17, the tension in the complex flared as there was a heavy presence of the security operatives preventing the majority of the lawmakers from entering the chambers. The hours-long operation ended with lawmakers forcing their way in, declaring their support for Honourable Meranda, passing a vote of confidence in an emotional Meranda, and adjourning the sitting indefinitely.

On February 27, Obasa appeared at the state house of assembly with heavy security details, and his supporters on Thursday went into the legislative chambers to preside over the plenary session to further assert his position as the speaker of the house.

Although the majority of lawmakers boycotted Obasa’s session in support of Honourable Meranda and to protest Obasa’s forcible entry into the complex, there was a report that Meranda’s security details were withdrawn while Obasa’s were restored.

As the crisis continued to cause tension in the state, some high-ranking members of the APC intervened to quell the heated politics among the lawmakers, resulting in the resignation of the house’s first female speaker for the removed speaker.

However, it is unclear whether Obasa will remain the speaker of the House or continue to have the backing of the majority of Assembly members who have previously rejected his leadership when the House returns from its indefinite adjournment.