Crisis rocks Lagos assembly over suspension of principal officers, 2 others
The crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly has taken a new dimension as the Speaker of the Assembly; Mudashiru Obasa on Monday disbanded a committee earlier set up to resolve the impasse in the ninth Assembly.
Offices of the sacked principal officers were allegedly sealed while the other two suspended members were never allowed access to their offices.
The House had on March 9, 2020 removed two principal officers, Rotimi Abiru and Olumuyiwa Jimoh as Chief Whip and Deputy Majority Leader respectively while it also suspended two other members, Moshood Oshun and Raheem Kazeem indefinitely from the Assembly over what it described as gross misconduct, insubordination and actions capable of destabilizing the house.
Twenty six members signed the removal of the house leaders.
Not long after, they were replaced as the lawmakers unanimously elected Noheem Adams, representing Eti-Osa constituency I, as the Deputy Majority Leader and Mojisola Lawal-Meranda representing Apapa constituency I, as the new Chief Whip.
Daily Trust Saturday reports that since the suspension of the lawmakers, there has been uneasy calm in the assembly.
It was gathered that the suspension of the lawmakers may not be unconnected with the controversy over the recent purchase of 80 cars worth N2.4 billion by the House leadership.
The cars were meant for members and principal officers of the assembly.
A source hinted that the lawmakers were sacked because they allegedly leaked out information about the car purchase to the press.
It was also gathered that their removal was an alleged plot against Senator Adebayo Oshinowo, popularly known as Pepperito.
Oshinowo is a former member of the State Assembly and current senator representing Lagos East at the National Assembly.
The ousted house leaders, Abiru and Jimoh are said to be loyalists to Senator Oshinowo.
Meanwhile, it was gathered following the development in the house, some power brokers in Lagos and Abuja including some forces in the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) are planning to remove Obasa as speaker over allegation of lack of transparency and high-handedness.
It was also gathered that before now, some group of Lagosians had moved to ensure that a Lagosian emerge as Speaker of the house; an effort they said failed leading to the emergence of Obasa whom they claimed is not originally from Lagos.
The crisis rocking the Assembly at the moment according to the source may have re-awakened the agitation for a Lagosian to become the speaker of the house.
In the midst of the crisis, the Assembly inaugurated a committee headed by member representing Badagry Constituency 1, Ibrahim Layode to look into the matter surrounding the action of the Assembly.
The chairman, House Committee on Information, Publicity, Strategy and Security, Tunde Braimoh, who announced the decision to set up a committee after a meeting of the lawmakers, stated that conflicts were inherent part of human nature and that when they come, there are mechanisms to resolve them.
“Those who are being reprimanded are our colleagues, they are not outcasts, and we belong to the same political party. We are mindful that the image of the House is at stake and we want to tell you that the people affected are not outcasts, they are our colleagues,”
“The committee headed by Hon. Ibrahim Layode is looking at the amicable solution to the matter. All the issues about offices, access and others would be addressed by the committee.
“So, we are in the process of conflict resolution. All the negativity that they are spreading about the issue is exaggerated,” he said, stressing that there is no division or breakdown of law and order in the House.
Also speaking, the new Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Noheem Adams cleared the air that he was not desperate to become a principal officer; noting that his emergence as was based on the decision of the House.
In the same vein, the new Chief Whip, Mojisola Meranda said there was no conflict in the assembly, adding “The House is one big family and there was no quarrel amongst the lawmakers”.
The crisis took another twist following a petition submitted to the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by a group calling for an investigation of Speaker Obasa over alleged gross financial misconduct, criminal breach of trust and abuse of office.
The petitioner who is the Executive Director of Human Rights Monitoring Agenda (HURMA), Comrade Buna Olaitan Isiak had claimed that popular demand necessitated the petition.
“Further to a popular demand by some members of the public to our office, this petition is written to acquaint your agency EFCC, with the gross financial misconduct and the abuse of office being perpetrated by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Honorable Mudashiru Obasa, for a thorough investigation so as to avert a further bleeding of the public treasury under his care and restore sanity in the functioning of the state’s legislative establishment.
“The Speaker’s desecration of his office for which a probe of his activities becomes necessary is in twofold: one, his financial recklessness and cornering of public funds through illegitimate means; and two, the corruption and compromise of laid down procedures and rules deliberately foisted on the workforce of the Assembly,” the petition reads in part.
Barely three days after setting up a resolution committee by the house, the speaker of the assembly Obasa, disbanded the committee, saying, there was no going back on the earlier suspension of the lawmakers.
Reacting, the ousted Chief Whip, Abiru said that his removal came to him as a surprise, saying he cannot say what warranted it other than “the Speaker trying to show power”.
“We have since our removal been denied access to the Assembly. We have also been removed from the group platform of the 9th Assembly which I feel is unnecessary. It will also interest you to know that since the suspension, our offices had been put under lock and key while our staff members are denied to the Assembly. All of these are unconstitutional,” he said.
Meanwhile, the assembly has passed a vote of confidence on the speaker over the issue of the N2.4 billion cars purchased for members of the Assembly.
The purchase of cars for the 40 members of the House has been generating reactions from different quarters including petitions and allegations over lack of transparency in the house.
At its plenary on March 16, the issue of the petition against the speaker was brought to floor Rotimi Olowo representing Shomolu Constituency 1 under Matter of Urgent Public Importance.
Olowo described the petition against the speaker as “malicious and against the image of the House”.
Olowo, who described the Speaker as a “democratic, responsible and reliable leader”, absolved him of any wrong doing and subsequently moved that a vote of confidence be passed on him, a motion which was supported by majority of the lawmakers.
The Speaker stated that the issue was not about official vehicles, but the backup vehicles and the money spent purchasing them.
“The official vehicles for the 9th Assembly were the issue. It was a deliberate action to paint the House in bad light. The people that stole the vouchers that were leaked to the press is the issue. We have discussed issues relating to divulging the discussions in the House. The issue that came out in one of the national dailies is traceable to Hon. Moshood Oshun,”
“The writer of the petition is close to Hon. Olumuyiwa Jimoh. Some of the things he wrote were parts of what we have discussed,” Obasa said.
Obasa maintained that if those who had been disciplined by the House were responsible for what was being spread all over the place, the committee set up on the issue should be dissolved.
Obasa had earlier described the removal of two principal officers of the House and suspension of two other members as a measure to ensure that the legislature remains strengthened and its sanctity maintained.
He stressed that the legislature must remain strong at all times, especially in relation to Nigeria’s democracy; saying, it is often the hardest hit when issues in the democratic journey pop up.
The speaker denied having any feud with Senator Oshinowo who was believed to be instrumental to his (Obasa’s) emergence as speaker in 2015 and also in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Lagos Legislators Forum, an official body of all former lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly has waded into the crisis ravaging the Assembly.
The Forum in a statement said that the body at its monthly meeting raised concerns over the development and urged the aggrieved parties to give peace a chance.
It was gathered that the suspension of the lawmakers may not be unconnected with the controversy over the recent purchase of 80 cars worth N2.4 billion by the House leadership