The Lagos State House of Assembly has stated that it expects former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa to return to the House before deciding on the next course of action, which may include an investigation.
Olukayode Ogundipe, the House’s spokesperson, said this in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH on Monday at the Assembly compound in Alausa, Ikeja.
Ogundipe said, “On the other allegations against him, when he is on the ground physically, those ones will be taken care of.
“There are other things we’ve also been hearing about different amounts of money being spent by him. We felt we didn’t know how they got the record of those, but the ones we have, when he’s seated with us, actions will be taken.”
When asked if the Assembly would petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the ex-Speaker, the Assembly spokesperson, representing Oshodi Constituency I, said, “That will be expatiated when he’s on the ground; probably a committee will be set up to look into it, or probably it will also be looked at by the leadership of the House.
“Those formalities as per procedures will be followed to the letter. So I’m sure you should expect the House to react to that when the time comes.”
The lawmakers impeached Obasa last week, alleging, among other things, corruption suspicions.
However, Obasa, who spoke publicly about the situation last Saturday, denied the lawmakers’ corruption allegations.
He also maintained his dismissal was unprocedural, maintaining that he remained the real Speaker.
“If you want to claim that I’m corrupt, please prove it; let us see it,” Obasa told supporters who welcomed him at the Speaker’s Lodge on Saturday.
However, speaking with our correspondent on Monday, the House spokesman insisted that Obasa was legally removed.
Ogundipe said, “I want to say that the former Speaker, Rt Hon Mudashiru Obasa, is still one of us and will continue to remain one of us, and the process of his removal was constitutional.
“As I said, the constitution is very clear about the process of bringing him in in case we want to change the guard; that is the same procedure we also used to remove him. The process was duly followed, and the members, we know what we saw, and we intended to change guard, and that’s exactly what we did.”
On January 13, 2025, a majority of legislators dismissed the outgoing Speaker, citing claims of malfeasance and financial embezzlement.
He was succeeded by Mojisola Meranda, the previous deputy speaker of the House.
Meanwhile, according to Ogundipe, the plenary was rescheduled to allow Assembly members to truly settle in and demonstrate that the House was peaceful.
Meranda officially entered the Speaker’s Office on Monday morning, backed by MPs who put their weight behind her.
Obasa did not attend the assembly on Monday, despite Ogundipe’s statement that “we are also expecting him to be here with us so that they can see it is not about the noise outside; it is a very calm place.”
