Battle for speaker seat: Bisi Akande panel shortlists seven aspirants

The persistent speakership dilemma in the Lagos State House of Assembly may soon be resolved as prominent individuals inside the All Progressives Congress (APC) strive for a resolution.
Reports suggest that both the impeached Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, and the incumbent Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, may resign to permit another legislator to take over the leadership of the House.

This result ensued after the intervention of prominent APC members, including former governors Chief Bisi Akande (Osun), Segun Osoba (Ogun), and Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), among others.

Following directions from President Bola Tinubu, the high-level delegation was assigned to resolve the political impasse, particularly after the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) was unable to achieve a consensus.

The crisis commenced on January 13, 2025, when around 36 legislators voted to oust Obasa as Speaker, substituting him with Meranda, the former Deputy Speaker.

A substantial majority of legislators charged Obasa with inadequate leadership, habitual tardiness to parliamentary sessions, authoritarian inclinations, strained relationships with peers and the executive branch, abuse of power, intimidation, misappropriation of funds, and various other transgressions.

Obasa, present in Atlanta, United States, during his deportation, has persistently denied his impeachment, asserting that he continues to hold the position of Speaker.

“What is my standing in the household?” I firmly assert that I remain the speaker until the appropriate action has been taken. If you want to remove me, remove me the proper method and I will not oppose it,” Obasa stated while addressing journalists on January 25, 2025.

On Sunday, key parties, including Osoba, Ambode, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and GAC members, assembled at the Governor’s Lodge in Marina to seek a resolution to the problem.

Speaking on the conclusion of the meeting to The PUNCH, GAC member Chief Muraina Taiwo stated that party officials were considering a lawmaker from Lagos West to fill the speakership.

“The issue will die down soon. Between now and the middle of next week, everything will become apparent. The APC leaders, including Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Olusegun Osoba, arrived to mediate.

“They will go back to Abuja to brief our leader (Tinubu) how they feel about everything. They are urging to Speaker Obasa that he should stand down and the other woman (Meranda) should also go down and they would bring in another fresh person. They are thinking about presenting a few names but all will land at the table of the leader.