Mudashiru Obasa
By Victory Oghene
That Mudashiru Obasa was impeached as speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday is no longer news. What is perhaps news is that Obasa was impeaced on account of his ambition to become the Lagos State Governor in 2027. His impeachment did not come as a surprise to many observers, considering the controversies which had trailed him in recent months.
On Monday in plenary, Obasa was accused of gross misconduct and abuse of office. Ninety percent of the Lagos lawmakers voted to impeach him, and Obasa was subsequently replaced by his deputy, Mojisola Meranda.
Meranda, who represents Apapa Constituency 1, is also a former chief whip of the house. Mojeed Fatai was elected the new deputy speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Insiders informed NATIONAL WAVES that Obasa might have been impeached because of his 2027 ambition.
The 52-year-old politician incurred the wrath of those who matter in Lagos politics when he began to build structures across 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs). The structures were given a nomenclature – the Obasa’s Support Group.
Sources squealed that the support group is targeted at controlling the grassroots ahead of his Lagos governorship ambition in 2027.
Political leaders in Lagos were also miffed that Obasa proposed a bill to empower the Assembly to remove the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) chairman and wanted to pressurise Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to sign the bill.
It was also alleged that Obasa’s ‘disrespect’ for the governor got the attention of the Governor advisory Members (GAC) who reported him to President Bola Tinubu.
“The GAC were uncomfortable with way Obasa was disrespecting the Governor. They reported him to Mr President who held a meeting with him regarding his unfriendly attitude towards the governor. That culminated to the end of his tenure as speaker of Lagos Assembly.
Obasa, who represents Agege Constituency 1, was first elected in 2007. He has been re-elected four times in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023.
However, in recent years, he has not enjoyed a cordial working relationship with the Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu.
Another source revealed that Obasa ignored warnings from President Tinubu and the GAC to refrain from using his position to advance personal interests.
Reports indicate that the former speaker recently instructed lawmakers to purchase festive gifts for his political movement, a move viewed as a direct defiance of party directives.
This development raised concerns within party ranks, underscoring Obasa’s alleged disregard for the party’s leadership and internal rules.
President Tinubu and GAC members previously cautioned Obasa against disrespecting Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and engaging in behaviour deemed unbecoming of his position as speaker, a source revealed.
In 2023, after Sanwo-Olu’s assumption of office for a second term, the Lagos House of Assembly in an unprecedented development since 1999, deviated from its usual path of clearing all commissioner nominees transmitted by the executive arm of government by refusing to clear some nominees of Governor Sanwo-olu.
The Assembly and party loyalists had said the main reason some nominees were rejected was because they were not known in their constituencies and had no electoral value. But it was seen as part of the loggerhead between Obasa and the governor.
Some party members had alleged that Sanwo-olu had supported another candidate against Obasa in the race for the seat of speaker.
Furthermore, at the inauguration of the 10th Assembly, many key members of the Lagos House of Assembly did not support Obasa’s decision to vie for the speakership of the House.
Some of the legislators had accused him of alleged highhandedness, after he clashed with some key lawmakers who challenged his decisions in the 9th Assembly.
However, it took the intervention of the GAC before some key Lagos lawmakers and party chieftains could back his ambition.
It was gathered that Obasa’s removal comes barely a month after the Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition had filed a petition with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), accusing him of allegedly spending N17 billion to fix a gate that leads to the Assembly.
But Obasa had, on several occasions, denied the accusations, saying that they were politically motivated.
“I was accused of using N17 billion to construct a gate. How much is the House of Assembly allocation that I will now carry out for the construction of a gate at the rate of N17 billion? For the fact that you want to satisfy some people, at least they should be reasonable,” Obasa said recently.
Some observers say Obasa may have been removed due to his rumoured gubernatorial ambition to succeed the incumbent governor in 2027.
Speaking recently at the 2025 budget presentation of Governor Sanwo-Olu in plenary, where the Lagos legislators passed a vote of confidence on him, Obasa denied nursing any gubernatorial ambition.
He said his major concern has been to strengthen the APC in the state.
“I have made it a personal task to mobilise people on the platform of Mandate, which has been misconstrued by some political detractors as being a selfish aspiration on the ground for me to become governor of the state,” Obasa had stated.
