Mojisola Meranda, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, has stepped down from her role.
Preceding her resignation on Monday were the resignations of principal officers of the House one after the other, and the immediate nominations of their replacements.
“I hereby give you notice of my decision to resign as the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. I did not arrive at this decision lightly. I gave it careful consideration in view of the several intriguing circumstances affiliated with my election on the 13th of January, 2025,” Meranda said while addressing the legislators on Monday.
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She added that she resigned to save the legislative body from further unnecessary conflicts.
Mudashiru Obasa.
Shortly after her resignation, legislators in attendance re-elected her as deputy speaker, a position she held until her short-lived elevation to the speakership role by her colleagues.
OBASA RETURNS
After she was sworn in as deputy speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, the speaker who was removed on January 13, was re-elected without any opposition.
The lawmakers had accused the Agege Constituency 1 representative of “intimidation and inciting members against one another…mismanagement of funds and lack of time transparency in his management of the House of Assembly funds”.
He had earlier been accused of embezzling public funds up to N17 billion and other unethical conduct, but he denied the allegations.
Obasa had maintained that his removal was unconstitutional and he went to court to challenge it.
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The power play between the lawmakers and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the removal of Obasa had plunged the assembly into chaos.
But his return has now effectively returned the leadership of the House to the status quo, stopping any clamour to investigate all the serious accusations of abuse of office against him.
Cornelius Ojelabi, the APC Lagos chairman, and other party stakeholders witnessed the parliamentary event. All the lawmakers who spoke minutes before the leadership change restated their acknowledgement of the supremacy of the party, indicating that Obasa’s second-coming was a reflection of the political party’s resolution.
The post UPDATED: Meranda Bows to Pressure, Resigns as Lagos Speaker appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.