Ousted Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa has resumed his position as the parliament leader

The ousted Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has stated that he has resumed his position as the parliament leader.

Obasa stated this on Thursday after returning to parliament with police and State Security Service details for the first time since he was removed on January 13. 

Obasa was chaperoned by a retinue of armed, stern-looking uniformed security operatives as he walked into the hallowed chambers which he has not been publicly seen since his removal as Lagos speaker on Monday, January 13, 2025.

In solidarity, his supporters gathered at the entrance gate of the Assembly Complex, chanting and cheering on the lawmaker who represents Agege Constituency I in the 40-member House.
Obasa was removed as Lagos speaker in January when more than two-thirds of the house voted him out over alleged misconduct and sundry offences.

Obasa’s then deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was immediately elected the new Speaker, becoming the first female to take charge of the legislative body in the South-West state.

A day after she became the speaker, Meranda visited members of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) to “brief them about what happened at the House of Assembly yesterday and to seek their blessings which we have gotten”.

Meranda met with members of GAC, the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, alongside other members of the State Assembly at Lagos House, Marina.
Meranda, who represents Apapa Constituency I and ended the 10-year reign of Obasa, has also met with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu after she emerged as speaker.

Obasa was first elected into the House in 2007. He has been in the chamber since then. He emerged as a speaker in June 2015 before his removal in January 2025.

On Saturday, January 25, 2025, Obasa rejected his removal and insisted that he remained the speaker until the right thing had been done. He faulted the militarisation of the assembly complex during the impeachment process. He also claimed his removal as speaker took place in his absence — when he was out of Nigeria.

However, 36 lawmakers loyal to Meranda insisted that Obasa’s removal was final and that Meranda remained the speaker of the House.
On February 17, 2025, tempers flared at the Assembly Complex when security agents and some legislative workers clashed over the presence of the former in the hallowed chambers.