The Lagos State House of Assembly Complex’s workers and security officials fought back for hours before Mojisola Meranda, the speaker of the house, finally gained access to her office and presided over the plenary on Monday.
As the speaker entered the imposing chamber, lawmakers and members of the assembly were heavily guarded by the chamber. After the drama in which security operatives, including police officers and Department of State Services employees, attempted to enter the Assembly chambers, some Assembly members and staff members resisted their attempts. She eventually presided over plenary.
As lawmakers chanted their support for Meranda and demanded that she continue to be the House speaker, there was a palpable tumult in the hallowed chamber.
While the face-off lasted, the assembly premises were militarised, with dozens of security officials and their operational vans stationed there.
Plans to replace Mudashiru Obasa as the new speaker’s replacement were defeated by 36 pro-Meranda lawmakers in the 40-member house that had already passed a vote of confidence in the new speaker.
As the lawmakers approved a vote of confidence in her and adjourned the session indefinitely, Meranda became upset.
Since then, the House has been the subject of a verbal exchange between the DSS and the assembly. The House denied making such a request, despite the DSS’s claim that its employees were invited.
The Police Service Commission has approved Olohundare Moshood Jimoh’s appointment as the new commissioner of police for the nation’s economic capital in the wake of the leadership crisis sweeping the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Despite the police commission’s failure to provide a justification for the appointment of a new police chief in Lagos, observers have attributed the development to the drawn-out leadership tussle in the hallowed chamber.
More than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative house voted him out on January 13th, 2025, prompting his removal as Lagos speaker due to alleged misconduct and other offenses.
Obasa’s then deputy, Meranda, was immediately elected the new Speaker, becoming the first female to take charge of the legislative body in the South-West state.
Meranda visited Governors Advisory Council members the day after she assumed office to “brief them about what transpired at the House of Assembly yesterday and ask for their approval.”
Meranda met with members of GAC, the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, alongside other members of the State Assembly at Lagos House, Marina.
Meranda, who represents Apapa Constituency I and ended the 10-year reign of Obasa, has also met with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu after she emerged as speaker.
Obasa, from Agege Constituency I, was first elected into the House in 2007. Since then, he has since entered the chamber. Before being fired in January 2025, he first started speaking in June 2015.
Obasa criticized the militarization of the assembly complex during the impeachment process on Saturday, January 25, 2025, saying he remained in office until the right decision was made. He also claimed that while he was away from Nigeria, he was removed as speaker.
Source: Channels TV
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