Mudashiru Obasa, the ousted Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, further showed his love for money just at the moment his impeachment was ongoing, multiple sources within the Assembly have revealed.
The Speaker, who is still in the United States of America making frantic efforts at a soft landing from Nigeria’s anti-graft agencies, was removed in a very peaceful action by 32 of his colleagues including his closest neighbour in terms of constituencies, Hon. Jubreel Abdulkareem.
He was replaced by his erstwhile deputy, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, who was nominated and approved by the lawmakers. The House, on Friday, appointed other principal officers to work with the new Speaker.
Sources from within the Assembly told Huhuonline.com that during the inspection of various facilities within the Assembly, the new acting Clerk of the House, Abubakar Ottun, and members of the House were shocked to discover that the vaults within the Speaker’s office had been cleared of cash.
“It was so shocking. What I can’t say is whether he moved the cash before his removal or immediately after, but what that means is that there is no cash for the new Speaker to kickstart the running of the Assembly except, maybe, what was left in the account,” a senior staff member in the Assembly, who would not allow his name in print, told Huhuonline.com.
The management of the House, it is learnt, has begun a proper audit of the entire legislative institution as staff fear that heads may roll.
“Under the Mudashiru Obasa administration, there were serious issues of maladministration. The Clerk at that time was subsumed and could hardly go against Obasa’s dictates.
“Imagine situations where a Level 8 staff becomes a head of a unit that has Level 10 and Level 13 staff. It was so bad. There were no considerations for seniority in service. Once the Speaker doesn’t like you, you are finished. Your juniors would be used against you.
“The current Clerk of the House was seriously frustrated just because he was not in Obasa’s good books. He never benefitted from foreign travels, but his juniors got many opportunities,” the source said
“The jubilation that greeted the former Speaker’s removal last Monday was a confirmation of the feelings of the staff all this while,” he added.
The idea behind the audit of the Assembly cannot be ascertained at this time, but it is believed that it is aimed at making the new Speaker, who is the younger sister of a prominent traditional ruler, know where to start from. Moreover, there are reports that the anti-graft agencies are on Obasa’s trail.
“Currently, new structures are being created within the House and policies are also being reversed. Round pegs are being fitted in round holes.
“Meranda is yet to move into the office of the Speaker. She still operates from her office pending the period when the environment becomes good enough for effective legislative activities,” another top source said.
Meranda and her colleagues recently visited the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), the apex leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State to officially inform the body of the changes in leadership.
