- Speaker Mudashiru Obasa of Lagos State was impeached by the House of Assembly following accusations of fraudulent activities and statutory violations
- The impeachment has political figures like Fouad Oki, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and political analyst Jide Ojo reacting
- Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s media adviser Gboyega Akosile denied rumors of the governor’s involvement in the impeachment
The Lagos State House of Assembly impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, citing a series of alleged financial and statutory violations.
The decision came after a plenary session where Obasa, a six-term lawmaker representing Agege Constituency I, was accused of fraudulent activities.
The impeachment triggered various political responses. Fouad Oki, a key figure in the All Progressives Congress (APC), defended the move, stating that Obasa had been acting with a sense of entitlement, almost like an emperor.
Oki explains why Obasa's leadership was untenable
Appearing on Channels Television's Politics Today, on Monday, January 13, Oki noted that the Speaker’s removal had been anticipated by anyone with knowledge of Lagos politics, pointing out that recent developments in the past few months had hinted at his inevitable ousting.
Oki also emphasised that the impeachment aligned with the interests of President Bola Tinubu, as it would help maintain Lagos’ significance in his political agenda.
“He saw himself as an emperor. It became very obvious that there was a need for a change in the leadership of the parliament in Lagos. If you cast your mind back, you must have seen this coming in the last 18 months.
“Recall the events on the day when the governor presented the 2025 appropriation bill and the leadership of the party was invited to the convention.
“Not only was the governor kept waiting for over four hours, but the leadership of the party and all invited dignitaries were also kept waiting with no apologies or excuses. And when he came into the chambers, courtesies, too, were not extended to anyone.
“Rather, it was a situation or an event of letting people know that I am the emperor here. One of the ways to check such an irresponsible attitude is by calling his excesses to order,” Oki stated.
He further said, “Before the president came home, this issue has been lingering. In the wisdom of members of the Governors Advisory Council, GAC, the president’s attention was called.
“The president, as father and leader, called a meeting wherein he tried to make a sense out of the observations raised by elders of the party. Unfortunately, the president saw by himself a recalcitrant. I think that is what broke the camel’s back.”
Ojo suggests Obasa's arrogance led to his impeachment
Reacting to the development, political analyst Jide Ojo criticised the impeachment, calling it a "self-inflicted own goal."
On the same television program, Ojo suggested that Obasa's public remarks against Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu might have contributed to his downfall, adding that such comments could have played a role in the Speaker’s removal.
He said, “on social media, most allusions were that he (Obasa) was disrespectful to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the way he carried out during the budget presentation exercise, particularly when he made that snide remark that I am not too young or inexperienced to be the governor of the state and I am more qualified than some of those people who are there.
“So, it’s presumed to be a snide remark at a sitting governor.
“Incidentally, as a speaker or deputy speaker of the House of Assembly you do not have immunity, you are just there at the grace of your members.
“I don’t know what might have prompted Obasa to behave the way he did because if what he is alleged to have done has been revealed, which is politics behind the scene of keeping the governor waiting for several hours, keeping the party elders waiting and no apologies and then the President weighing in and you are showing some stubbornness and recalcitrant, well those the gods want to destroy they first make whatever.
“So, I believe this may have been a self-inflicted own goal if I want to call it own goal.”
Sanwo-Olu denies involvement in Obasa’s impeachment
However, Gboyega Akosile, Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, denied rumours claiming the governor orchestrated the impeachment.
Akosile explained that Sanwo-Olu had no part in the decision, rejecting suggestions of any conflict between the executive and the legislature.
He said, “No, no, no. There is absolutely nothing true about that. I mean, no, the Governor does not have a hand in it. It was purely a legislative matter.
“The Governor is busy with serious matters, busy with taking care of the over 20 million Lagos population.
“What happened in the Hallowed Chamber of the House of Assembly was purely the prerogative of the legislators.
“I mean, we saw on the media, just like you, that the legislators removed the Speaker. We watched like every other person. The Governor must have watched it like any other person.
“I don’t think there is anything more to it other than that. So, absolutely, there is no hand of the governor in the impeachment of the Speaker,” Akosile stated.
Lagos Governorship 2027: How potential contenders have begun the race early
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that the race for Lagos Governorship in 2027 began heating up, with key contenders from the ruling APC and opposition parties hoping for the seat.
Seyi Tinubu, Mudashiru Obasa, Akinwunmi Ambode and Tokunbo Abiru are being touted as potential candidates for APC.