The reinstatement of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly holds great significance for South-West politics and native plots within the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2027 presidential slot. SEYE OLUMIDE and LEO SOBECHI capture the behind-the-scenes moves that won Obasa a reprieve despite implications for the frosty relationship between the legislature and executive arm of government.

Barring any last-minute change of schemes, the Speakership tussle in the Lagos State House of Assembly could open a new vista. Veteran Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, may yield the Speakership seat for a new helmsman to emerge today.

The Guardian gathered that APC elders, including former interim National Chairman, Bisi Akande and former Ogun State governor, Segun Osoba, are meeting with other stakeholders in Lagos APC to resolve the lingering leadership tangle.

Although interim Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had to resign for Obasa to regain the gavel, the veteran Speaker may step down also in line with agreed conditions that preceded Meranda’s resignation for a new Speaker to emerge from Lagos West Senatorial District.

It was also learnt that an attempt by the majority members of the Assembly stonewall against Obasa’s return by queuing behind the female Speaker, voices of strong rebuke and censure from the Presidency triggered an about-face among them.

The Presidency was said to have listened to Obasa’s complaints, especially his plea of lack of fair hearing, where he argued that he was not granted the opportunity to respond to accusations of high-handedness levelled against him.

President Bola Tinubu’s in-depth knowledge of the political history of South-West Nigeria must have moved him to intervene. The President was said to have thundered at members of the Assembly and leaders of the Governor Advisory Committee (GAC): “I am the founder and the leader of the party. As the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic, I deserve to be consulted before removing the speaker. Return Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. Reinstate him; he will behave well going forward.”

https://guardian.ng/politics/lagos-assembly-how-tinubu-averted-a-repeat-of-history/