Lagos Assembly says Tinubu’s wife not involved in crisis

The Lagos State House of Assembly has distanced the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, from the crisis rocking the assembly.

This was made known in a statement issued by the House spokesperson, Olukayode Ogundipe, on Tuesday.

There have been speculations alleging that President Bola Tinubu’s wife may be backing the ousted Speaker of the Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

The House distanced itself from such rumour, saying all the lawmakers hold the First Lady in high esteem.

“We categorically dissociate all members of the Lagos State House of Assembly from this false and baseless claim. The report is purely a fabrication and has no basis in truth.

“All members of the Assembly hold the First Lady in the highest regard. As a distinguished former First Lady of Lagos State and now the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has made significant contributions to governance and national development.

“It is, therefore, inconceivable that any member of the Assembly would accuse her of involvement in legislative matters or seek to tarnish her reputation. We firmly state that the First Lady has no role in any internal disagreements within the House. Any attempt to link her to these issues is entirely unfounded.”

Meanwhile, some lawmakers on Tuesday met with the executives of the executives of the All Progressives Congress in the state to brief them about happenings at the House.

The state chairman of the party, Cornelius Ojelabi, in a post on X, said the State Working Committee received members from the Lagos State House of Assembly. “They provided us with updates on the latest developments, fostering official communication between our party and legislative members,” he wrote.

When contacted, the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Seye Oladejo, said the meeting was simply to brief the executives of the happenings at the assembly.

“It was just a courtesy visit to brief the party about what’s happening at the House, nothing more than that. And whatever is going on in the House, our position remains that it has to be resolved by the House,” he told our correspondent in a telephone interview.

The PUNCH reports that there was chaos at the House following the mililtarisation of the Assembly complex by DSS officials on Monday.

The crisis deepened following reported moves by ousted Obasa to return to the House on Tuesday.

Obasa, who was removed by the majority of the lawmakers at the House on January 13, 2025, had last week approached the court to seek redress.

The Lagos Assembly and the DSS also differed over the invasion, as the security agency noted it was invited by the House to beef up security.

“Contrary to reports by a section of the media that Department of State Services officers stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly, sealing offices of the Speaker and his deputy, it was the Assembly that invited security agents to maintain order.

“The clerk of the Assembly wrote to us that there was a potential security threat to the Assembly and its members and requested to increase the number of operatives there and ensure strict access within and outside the assembly,” a top DSS official who spoke on condition of anonymity for not being authorised, told our correspondent.

In its defence, the House in a statement issued by the spokesperson, Ogundipe, late Monday, clarified why it invited the DSS to the House.

It argued that even though it invited the security agency, it did not ask them to seal the offices of the principal officers of the House.

“We wish to categorically state that this is not the first time the House has sought security support from the DSS.

“However, it is important to emphasise that in all previous instances, the DSS operatives have been stationed at the main gate of the Assembly complex, ensuring that unauthorised persons do not gain entry.

For the avoidance of doubt, at no point did the letter requesting security assistance instruct the DSS to invade the legislative chamber, lock and restrict access to the Speaker’s office, lock the office of the acting Clerk and lock the Deputy Speaker’s office.

“The events of today (Monday) raise serious concerns about undue interference in legislative affairs. The sanctity of the Lagos State House of Assembly was undermined by armed DSS operatives who actively obstructed lawmakers from performing their constitutional duties,” Ogundipe said.

Meanwhile, the DSS, on Tuesday, threatened to take legal action against Africa Independent Television and Channels Television over their reports on the involvement of the service in the Lagos Assembly crisis.

The DSS described the reportage by the broadcast stations as false and malicious.

In a letter to the stations by its lawyer, Adedeji Adedipe (SAN), the DSS alleged that the stations misrepresented its actions during a tense period on February 17, 2025, when concerns arose over the possible return of former Speaker Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.

Adedipe stated that DSS’ role was purely to support existing security forces, and it did not engage in any unlawful activities.

The DSS demanded an immediate retraction of the reports and a public apology to be broadcast across all platforms for three consecutive days.

The service, however, warned that failure to comply within seven days would prompt civil and criminal legal actions against the stations under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes Act

The letter dated February 17 read, “Your publication and/or broadcast has greatly injured the character of our client and tarnished and lowered its esteemed image in the eyes of the public.

“Having regard to the fact that your broadcast was false and coupled with the fact that, you did not ensure balancing in your report, as enjoined by the ethics of journalism, our client has instructed us to demand the following:

“An immediate retraction of your defamatory publication and/or broadcast on all your news platforms.

“The retraction shall be accompanied by an apology which must be published at least five (5) times daily for three consecutive days on all your new channels and platforms, including all the social media handles to which your media House has its presence.

“Please note that should you fail, to comply with the above demands within a period of seven days after the delivery of this letter to you, we shall, on behalf of our client, seek redress by pursuing both civil and criminal actions against your organisation as your conduct also runs contrary to the provisions of Nigeria’s Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act of 2015, as amended in 2024, without further reference to you.”

Group warns Atiku

Meanwhile, a group,  Arise Lagos Movement, on Tuesday, cautioned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, to refrain from interfering in Lagos State politics.

The warning followed Atiku’s criticism of President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of meddling in state affairs rather than addressing national issues.

“Tinubu should focus on bringing Nigeria out of the mess he plunged the country into rather than interfering in state matters,” Atiku stated in a post on his X.com page on Monday.

In response, the group’s convener, Abe Kolawole, addressed journalists at a press conference in Ogba, Lagos, on Tuesday, reaffirming their support for President Tinubu and describing him as a leader committed to democracy, justice, and progress.

“We stand before you today collectively on behalf of committed loyalists, mentees, and well-meaning Nigerians who recognise the invaluable contributions of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to human capacity development, defence of the rule of law, and the development of Lagos State and Nigeria at large,” Kolawole stated.

He criticised what he described as attempts to drag Tinubu’s name into the Lagos Assembly crisis, suggesting that the controversy was politically motivated.

“You may be aware of the comment made by the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on an issue that is local to the Lagos State House of Assembly. This indicates the dimensions and motives of those behind the imbroglio,” he said.