Obasa’s Impeachment Illegal, FG Facilitated His Comeback – Report

A source has stated that the Federal Government supported the restoration of Mudashiru Obasa to the office of Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday.
Obasa was impeached by members of the Assembly while he was on holiday in the United States. The members cited alleged high-handedness and financial embezzlement for his departure and swiftly nominated Mojisola Meranda as their new Speaker.

However, Obasa opposed the his removal, arguing that the parliamentarians failed to follow proper process.

On Thursday, Obasa led a crowd of his followers to take over the assembly facility, where he announced that he had reclaimed his seat. He later presided over a plenary attended by four other members.

Obasa: I Support Removal But Only Through Proper Procedure

A top security official who spoke under the condition of anonymity informed Premium Times that the federal government had authorised the development.

The source said, “Obasa was not properly impeached as Speaker, so his removal is illegal, The government cannot support illegality.”

He said the members levelled criminal allegations against Obasa as the grounds for his impeachment but they did not allow him to defend himself.

Obasa: I Support Removal But Only Through Proper Procedure

According to the official, the government did not need to wait for the court to order it to take action on what it believed to be a legal violation because Obasa had brought his case to court and there had been no ruling on the issue.

Additionally, keep in mind that the House was not duly constituted for the session in which it allegedly impeached the Speaker. The source contended that only the authorized Speaker could call the House back to session because it was in recess.

Since the lawmakers apparently did not confer with the state’s party leaders prior to taking the action, there has been much conjecture that President Bola Tinubu was incensed by Obasa’s impeachment.