By Our Reporter
Lagos State Assembly Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, along with members of the House opposing the reinstatement of impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, have engaged the services of senior lawyers—Femi Falana (SAN), Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), and Muiz Banire (SAN)—to represent them in their legal battle against Obasa.
On Thursday, Obasa asserted his claim as the legitimate leader of the state legislature, maintaining that he had resumed his position despite being removed from office earlier this year.
He made this declaration after arriving at the Assembly Complex with a heavy security presence, accompanied by police officers and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
“I’ve resumed, and I remain the Speaker of the Assembly,” Obasa told journalists upon his arrival.
It marked his first return to the legislative chambers since his impeachment on January 13, 2025.
Obasa, escorted by more than 11 police officers, proceeded directly to the Speaker’s Office.
Recalled on Thursday that Obasa’s invasion of the Assembly came after all security aides attached to Speaker Mojisola Meranda had been withdrawn, raising concerns about her safety amid an ongoing leadership crisis.
“The lawyers will appear for the House and Speaker, Meranda today (Friday) for court proceedings,” a source told SaharaReporters.
Meanwhile, 36 lawmakers of the Assembly have openly rejected the reinstatement claims of impeached Obasa, calling his return a “charade” and an “embarrassment.”
Speaking to journalists at the Assembly Complex on Thursday, the lawmakers reaffirmed their loyalty to Speaker Meranda and demanded respect from the APC leadership over the unfolding power struggle.
Speaking for the lawmakers, the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Strategy, and Security, Stephen Ogundipe, said, “This is Lagos, and this is the Lagos State House of Assembly. We were approached by our leaders that we should remain calm and take things easy. But we are shocked to see what happened today.”
In a video obtained by some media houses, “We are still expecting them to come and tell us where we went wrong. We won’t take laws into our hands, just like I told the staff, they should not take laws into their hands. But we all belong to different constituencies; we have our mandates. Whatever is going to happen, the leadership should speak to us and not this charade that we are seeing.”
The lawmaker further expressed outrage over their treatment at the Assembly gate, describing the situation as disrespectful.
“We are not happy. We are shocked to see what is happening despite that this is Lagos. This is the centre of excellence. This is where everything starts and stops. We are law-abiding. We have not done anything against the state or against anybody.
“But we also want to be respected, to be given our dignity, to be shown that we are elected. So I am unhappy with the leadership of our party that we cannot continue this way.
“They have taken us to court. And it is for us to let the process follow its due course. But what we are seeing today is a charade. It’s uncalled for. It is an embarrassment because, for me to even enter the gate, I was stopped.”
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