The political tension in Lagos over the removal of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa has fully ended with the apex leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) settling for Mojisola Lasbat Meranda as his replacement.
The decision was reached late Monday at a tension-filled meeting that lasted many hours.
Rt. Hon. Meranda took over the leadership of the Assembly on January 13, 2024 after Obasa was removed by the lawmakers who alleged high-handedness, disregard for colleagues and corruption in office.
There had been speculation relating to Obasa’s possible return to the House.
Reports claimed that the President, Bola Tinubu, had ordered that Obasa be returned to the House as Speaker.
However, Huhuonline.com understands that the decision in favour of Meranda was reached at a meeting that had in attendance members of the House and the Governance Advisory Council (GAC)
Earlier at the meeting, it was learnt that there were suggestions that the Lagos West should produce the next Speaker since Obasa is from the senatorial district.
The argument was that Meranda is from Lagos Central just like the Governor while the Deputy Governor and the Deputy Speaker are from Lagos East.
However, it was learnt that the suggestion was kicked against by members of the GAC and some of the lawmakers during the meeting.
“The collective decision by the GAC was in favour of Meranda meaning that the Lagos West which has 20 of the 40 lawmakers of the House is the ultimate loser in the political environment of Lagos.
“The lawmakers told the GAC that they were comfortable with Meranda as their Speaker,” an insider at the meeting told Huhuonline.com.
“The heated debate made the Lagos West members of the GAC to hold a separate meeting where they decided that they would support Meranda,” a lawmaker said.
