Lawmakers adamant as Obasa pushes for clerk’s reinstatement

The reinstated Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, on Tuesday, held a meeting with his fellow lawmakers.

The meeting held at the Assembly complex  in Alausa, Ikeja was aimed at reconciling with his aggrieved colleagues following the leadership crisis which came to an end on Monday when the lawmakers reelected Obasa as Speaker.

The event followed the resignation of Mojisola Meranda as Speaker at Monday plenary after which she was also re-elected as Deputy Speaker, a position she held before she was made Speaker on January 13, 2025 after Obasa’s removal.

Meranda led the House as Speaker for 49 days.

Obasa’s re-election by the 40-member legislative assembly followed a series of interventions by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress led by former governors Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba.

The Tuesday meeting also happened amid speculations that Obasa was expected to resign.

But a source in his camp  told The PUNCH on Tuesday that Obasa would not be resigning.

The Chairman of the APC in Lagos, Cornelius Ojelabi, also shrugged off the speculation when asked about it Monday.

Some lawmakers, who attended the meeting, and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the agenda at the short meeting was not necessarily for reconciliation.

A lawmaker said, “First, one of the issues we raised as a reason for his removal happened again. A meeting scheduled for 1pm did not hold until 2.30pm. We were all kept waiting and when he arrived, there was no apology for the late commencement of the meeting.

“He went straight to the agenda after he passively acknowledged that we were still bitter with the way we were forced to bring him back and none of us contributed at the meeting.”

Another lawmaker said the meeting  “was to update us on the case brought against us by the suspended Clerk, Olalekan Onafeko.

“The matter comes up on Thursday. Ordinarily, it is a civil matter, so we were concerned that he had to involve the Department of State Services, which further led to the invitation and arrest of some of our colleagues.

“Aside these, nothing else happened. The meeting was short-lived.
“I want you to know that his return was not a selfless decision by us. It was done simply because we respect leaders like Baba Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba. In our hearts and souls, we do not want him up till this moment.”

The lawmaker said there was still anger within the House, adding that it would be difficult for the state legislature to remain the same.

A source in Obasa camp said Obasa had been meeting with the lawmakers.

“You know they also met  on Monday. Before then, they have also been meeting, so it’s been ongoing. It’s just to reconcile, so they can work together,” the source said.

He added that Obasa is pushing for the return of Olalekan Onafeko as the Clerk of the House.

The source said, “Obasa is pushing for Onafeko to return but the lawmakers are adamant.  Although some of them are already shifting ground and considering. Let’s see how it goes.”

He explained that it would not be politically correct for a pro-Meranda clerk to still continue as Obasa’s clerk.

Onafeko was suspended on January 13 by the lawmakers, the day the Obasa was removed. He was replaced with Ottun Babatunde.

Onafeko has dragged Babatunde and the Assembly to the National Industrial Court to seek redress.

However, Ottun acted as Clerk at the Monday plenary where Obasa was reelected.

In a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Tuesday, Onafeko said he was still standing by the court decision and added that he was also open to political resolution and the decision of the House.

He said, “Sometimes, you mange the situation. That doesn’t mean you don’t know what you’re doing, but for the sake of peace and the integrity of the institution itself, and I want to defer to the members of the House. I know that they will do the right thing. So, let’s take it one step at a time.

“It’s not something that you can only sort out by the law. The political and human aspects will also be looked into. The most important thing is what is good for the institution and and the state itself,” he said.

He noted that the Clerk’s Office is under renovation, and “nobody is there for now.”