Former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has reportedly pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to nullify his recent impeachment.
According to reports, Obasa, who was impeached on January 13, 2025, for gross misconduct and abuse of office, returned to Nigeria last weekend after assurances that he would not be arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or any other law enforcement agency.
Obasa has been under scrutiny for allegedly misappropriating ₦43.5 billion in state funds.
According to sources, President Tinubu summoned Lagos Assembly lawmakers, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, members of the Lagos Governor’s Advisory Council, and other All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders to a meeting in Abuja following Obasa’s impeachment.
The President reportedly expressed displeasure at the removal of Obasa without his prior approval, saying he learned about the development through the media.
However, Tinubu dismissed Obasa’s claims for nullification, telling him, “You were not born a Speaker, and speakership was not created with you.”
“Obasa pushed for the nullification of his impeachment on the grounds that the mace used to conduct business of the day on that fateful day wasn’t the official mace of the Lagos House of Assembly, considering he hid away the two maces while travelling out of the country.
“The lawmakers defeated his argument by confirming the mace used as the old mace of the parliament in the old building of the assembly. Seeing the futility of his claims, Obasa requested the President to prevail on the new leadership to grant him access to his belongings at the Speaker’s lodge and guest house. This was granted by the President,” the source told SaharaReporters.
Upon his return to Lagos on Saturday, Obasa is expected to move to his residence on Joel Ogunnaike Street, GRA Ikeja, where loyalists, mobilized by Agege Local Government Chairman Ganiyu Egunjobi, have planned a lavish welcome party.
Sources revealed that Obasa will also visit the Speaker’s lodge and guest house to retrieve his belongings. However, this visit will be closely monitored by the new Assembly leadership.
Obasa, representing Agege Constituency I, was first elected to the Lagos Assembly in 2007 and became Speaker in June 2015. His tenure ended on January 13, 2025, when more than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative house voted for his removal due to misconduct and other offences.
Following his impeachment, Deputy Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda was elected as the new Speaker, becoming the first female to hold the position in the South-West.
