By Ehichioya Ezomon
On Monday, January 13, 2025, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly – bandying allegations of gross misconduct, financial mismanagement, and poor leadership – defied the MKO Abiola dictum of “not shaving a man’s head in his absence,” and impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, who’s away in the United States of America.
Since then, the spinning goes on in political circles, and especially on social media that, the dramatic impeachment was a hatchet job executed by the “political machine” of President Bola Tinubu, intent on “installing” his son, Seyi Tinubu, as governor of Lagos State in 2027.
Mind you, that’s the same 2027 in which Tinubu – God sparing his life, and has performed averagely in the estimation of Nigerians in his first term in office – may seek re-election, to round-off an eight-year tenure (in 2031) allowed by the amended 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
The alleged Tinubu political machine is a conclave of elders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, reportedly instituted by Tinubu during his governorship (1999-2007) as the clearing house for elective and appointive positions and other political matters of the party.
Regarded by Lagosians as an appendage and rubber-stamp for Tinubu’s suzareignty in Lagos, those endorsed by the GAC members are as good as “already elected or appointed” for the positions so earmarked for them. There lies the party elders’ power, which you test or ignore at your own political risk or peril!
Perhaps in their haste to nail President Tinubu as deploying the GAC to scapegoat Obasa, the spinners of the conspiracy theory about “Obasa being sacrificed for Seyi” have completely ignored the reasons members of the House of Assembly advanced for ending Obasa’s 10-year speakership.
Media reports indicate that, moving the motion for Obasa’s removal – raised under “Matter of Urgent Public Importance” – Femi Saheed (Kosofe Constituency 2), citing the 1999 Constitution, accused Obasa of lateness to legislative sessions, misuse of funds, abuse of office, and creating divisions among the lawmakers.
Noting Obasa’s absence from the plenary – when his impeachment move was in progress – as further evidence of his disregard for the Assembly’s duties and proceedings, the lawmakers listed, among others, Obasa’s “sins”, as follows: highhandedness; gross misconduct; poor leadership; lack of commitment to legislative business; lack of regard for fellow lawmakers; intimidation; suppression of legislative staff; financial impropriety; misappropriation of funds; lack of transparency; gross abuse of office and privileges; and authoritarianism.
With a unanimous voice vote by 32 members, Obasa was removed from office in his absence, and replaced with Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda (Apapa Constituency 1), making history as the first female Speaker in Lagos State.
While Fatai Mojeed (Ibeju-Lekki Constituency) was chosen as Deputy Speaker, the Assembly suspended the Clerk, Olalekan Onafeko (a reported close ally of Obasa), and picked Abubakar Ottun as Acting Clerk.
Amid deployment of armed security personnel, including officers from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and Lagos Task Force, to secure the Assembly complex, some aggrieved supporters of Obasa attempted to disrupt the proceedings, but were intercepted and arrested, with charms and amulets reportedly recovered from them.
Obasa allegedly cowered his colleague-lawmakers to the extent that one of them, who aspired to contest the Speakership with him, confessed he thereafter contemplated suicide, as he’s ostracised in the Assembly for daring to challenge Obasa for the gavel.
Obasa accusingly extended his highhanded leadership style to banning journalists covering the Assembly activities for over two years, and clashing with the state executive arm – an attitude he notably displayed in 2023 during the Assembly screening of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commissioner-nominees; and the governor’s presentation of the 2025 Budget proposals to the House in 2024.
In 2023, Obasa – seeming to flaunt his “immense powers” by testing the independence of the Assembly, “based on the principles of separation of power, and checks and balances” – rejected some of the nominees, thereby “taking the governor much of appeasing by tradeoffs” for Obasa and the House to reconsider the designees for clearance.
The GAC elders, who reportedly took notice of Obasa’s “intransigence,” bided their time until the opportune moment came for Sanwo-Olu to present the 2025 Budget estimates to the Assembly, with Obasa, once again, allegedly playing his hand unhidden in rigmarole.
Obasa reportedly kept shifting Sanwo-Olu’s request to present the budget. And when he finally agreed on a date for the ceremony, he didn’t only keep the governor waiting for over four hours, but also used the session “to launch his governorship ambition.”
Obasa told Sanwo-Olu and his aides, and the lawmakers his intention for the governorship, declaring that, “I am not too young or inexperienced to be governor, and I am more qualified than some of those people who are there” – a direct shot at Sanwo-Olu, “and, by extension, past Lagos governors, including Tinubu.”
Obasa, who, in the course of his Speakership, has faced several allegations of corruption, willy-nilly, opened his flanks for the powerbroker-GAC in the Lagos APC to intervene in his shadow-boxing with Sanwo-Olu, and ambition to run for Governor in 2027.
Obasa’s governorship bid “further alienated him from colleagues,” one of the lawmakers, Abiodun Tobun (Epe Constituency 1), told journalists after the impeachment, adding that Obasa’s ouster as Speaker “was necessary to restore order and preserve the Assembly’s integrity,” even as he assured Lagosians of the lawmakers’ “commitment to transparency and effective governance under (new Speaker) Meranda’s leadership.”
As the GAC operation is akin to Labour Movement’s motto of “Injury to one is injury to all,” its members didn’t only consider Obasa’s public outburst as disrespect to Sanwo-Olu, but also indecorous to the entire GAC members, who then convoked, and decided it’s time to clip Obasa’s wings, by “returning him to floor membership in the House of Assembly en route to quashing his governorship ambition.”
So, how does Seyi’s aspiration for Governor connect Obasa’s alleged underhand legislative behaviours and ambition for the Governorship? From the allegations leveled against him prelude to his impeachment on January 13, Obasa’s his own undoing, and nobody else, not the least Seyi for his alleged governorship aspiration, should be blamed for Obasa’s perceived “political downfall.” Still, these and more will be explored in the second installment of the article!
*Mr Ezomon, journalist and media consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria. Can be reached on X, Threads, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp @EhichioyaEzomon. Tel: 08033078357.
