The Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly has been booted out of office by his colleagues.
He was promptly replaced by his deputy, Hon. Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, who represents Apapa Constituency 1.
Obasa was sacked over allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office, but there are those who believe the battle for the Lagos State number one seat in 2027 may be at the root of his travails.
The President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, is believed to be a top contender for the top seat.
Obasa was enmeshed a disagreement with his fellow lawmakers over alleged corruption, including an allegation by a group known as the Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, that the Assembly spent N17 billion on the construction of a gate, calling the claim “spurious and funny.”
Defending himself at plenary, Obasa denied spending N200 million on the recently held 22nd Thanksgiving service for its staff.
His words: “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 expended 200 million on Thanksgiving which 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.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our Thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it….”
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Addressing the same allegations, the Assembly spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had said: “It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
