Thirty-six members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have rejected the return of Mudashiru Obasa, the ousted Speaker of the Assembly.
The lawmakers gathered at the Assembly garden, reaffirming their stance based on the February 17 vote of confidence they passed in Mojisola Meranda, whom they elected to replace Obasa.
Stephen Ogundipe, Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Strategy, and Security, spoke on behalf of his colleagues, condemning Obasa’s “forceful” entrance into the assembly complex and calling for calm.
“This is Lagos, the State House of Assembly. We’re shocked by what’s happening today. We expect our leaders, who previously advised us to remain calm, to come and address us, explain where things went wrong, and clarify what really happened. We won’t take the law into our own hands, but we represent different constituencies and have our mandates.
Whatever happens, the leadership should communicate with us, not engage in this charade we are witnessing. We are humiliated by this action. I was stopped at the gate from entering the assembly chamber. This is an embarrassment, and it must stop.
We are not against the leadership’s decisions, but they should engage with us directly, instead of letting us hear rumours. They are our leaders, and we will still stand by and respect their decisions.”
The lawmakers collectively declared, “We reject Obasa in totality.”
