Mudashiru Obasa, Monday, returned as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly following Mojisola Meranda’s resignation from the position.
Obasa who was earlier removed made the dramatic comeback that also saw Meranda return to her former position as Deputy Speaker.
This also follows resignations by other leaders of the House.
Meranda presides over last plenary as Speaker
Both Meranda and Obasa had stormed the Assembly complex this morning, as fears mounted over the likelyhood of a showdown and breakdown of law and order.
Minutes after a strategic meeting involving Obasa, Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, Lagos State Attorney General Lawal Mohammed Alade Pedro (SAN), APC Chairman Cornelius Ojelabi, and 38 lawmakers at the assembly garden, Meranda presided over the plenary session that ushered in a return to status quo.
Lagos Assembly crisis
The House has been in crisis following the removal of Mr Obasa and former Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, by 32 lawmakers on January 13, 2025, and elected Mrs Mojisola Meranda as the substantive speaker.
Multiple sources close to the Presidency and other principal actors in the crisis told Newsmen that overtures have been made to legislatures to soft-pedal and support the embattled former Speaker.
It was reliably gathered that members of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC, were also asked to rein in the anti-Obasa lawmakers.
This followed the disbandment of the Bisi Akande committee over its findings on the matter.
It was further gathered that the committee was disbanded owing to the report it submitted after its visit that the odds were against Obasa.
The President had set up a high-powered committee of the party led by Bisi Akande and members including Aremo Olusegun Osoba, and former APC National Vice Chairman, South-west, Pius Akinyelure and others to resolve the crisis.
It further gathered that after the disbandment of the Akande committee, members of GAC were asked to rein in their loyalists in the Assembly and executive to back Obasa.
The source said: “The Bisi Akande committee has been disbanded. The president has reached out to members of GAC who have loyalists or children in the Assembly to insist they work for Obasa’s return as Speaker.
“For those who do not have children in the Assembly but have other political loyalists in the State Executive Council, they have been mandated to ensure Obasa is returned.
Another source said that if the strategies to rein in the anti-Obasa fail to scale through, the Presidency and party leaders are considering allowing the courts resolve the crisis.
Sources in the presidency said: “The President is insisting Obasa must return but the Assembly members are also throwing their weight behind Meranda. The two camps do not want to shift grounds. As it is, the court will decide who the Speaker is and you know how judicial process works, it will move from the High Court to Appeal Court and from there, to the Supreme Court; the court will decide.”
The embattled former Speaker had dragged Meranda, the Assembly and 36 lawmakers to court challenging his ‘unlawful’ removal.
Justice Yetunde Rukayat Pinheiro of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, last Friday, adjourned the hearing of all pending applications in the lawsuit filed by Obasa, to March 7.
Lagos Deputy Speaker, Mojeed Fatai resigns
Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mojeed Fatai, has resigned from his position.
Fatai said his resignation takes effect from today, Monday.
He disclosed this during plenary, which was presided over by Speaker Mojisola Meranda.
“I hereby tender my resignation as the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, effective today, March 3, 2025.”
Visibly absent on the floor of the Assembly was the ousted Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa.
This comes after a meeting between Meranda, Obasa, and the lawmakers of the Assembly, which was held outside the chambers.
Though the details of the meeting are unknown, after the parley, Meranda and the lawmakers returned to the Assembly chambers to resume plenary.
Drama started in January when lawmakers impeached Obasa for misappropriation and swore in his deputy, Meranda.
