BREAKING: Despite Corruption Allegations, Lagos Assembly Re-elects Obasa as Speaker After Meranda’s Resignation
In a surprising twist, Mudashiru Obasa, the previously impeached Lagos Assembly Speaker, has been re-elected as the Speaker of the House. This is despite facing serious allegations of corruption, financial mismanagement, and abuse of office.
Obasa, who represents Agege Constituency I, was voted back into office on Monday following the sudden resignation of Mojisola Meranda. His nomination came from Noheem Adams, a former Majority Leader representing Eti-Osa Constituency I.
Previously, Femi Saheed, the lawmaker representing Kosofe Constituency, had openly opposed Obasa’s leadership and moved a motion to have him removed. He accused the Speaker of mismanaging funds, suppressing fellow lawmakers, and ruling the Assembly with an iron fist.
“I hereby move that the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Right Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, be removed as Speaker of this House for gross misconduct and poor leadership, including high-handedness and disregard for honourable members,”* Saheed declared on the floor of the Assembly.
Despite these strong words, Obasa was briefly removed with Honourable Meranda, the deputy speaker emerging as the next speaker. The brief disruption in the leadership of Obasa was no long until he reclaim the seat.
Worthy of note, Obasa was accused of approving a staggering N17 billion for the construction of a gate leading to the Assembly complex. The Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition has since called for a thorough investigation into the matter.
But Obasa has brushed off the allegations, calling them absurd.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we spent N200 million on a Thanksgiving that did not hold,” he said in December.
For years, Lagos lawmakers and the state’s executive arm have operated behind closed doors, with little transparency in financial dealings. The state is one of those challenging the Freedom of Information Act at the Supreme Court, arguing that it should not be obligated to publicly disclose government spending.
Obasa’s re-election, despite these lingering controversies, underscores the political realities in Lagos—a state where power and accountability often seem to exist on separate tracks.
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