Former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa has dropped a bombshell on the current leadership.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, he said the current Speaker, Mojisola Meranda has resigned.
According to Obasa, Meranda resigned during a meeting at the Lagos House in Marina last weekend which was attended by all party leaders.
He said the meeting was a platform for open discussion among members. He claimed Meranda disclosed her resignation herself and that when someone resigns, all the symbols of office are withdrawn.
He claimed that only Meranda has signed, while he is still a member of the House of Assembly in Lagos.
in his words, “At the meeting held in Marian, which saw the attendance of all party leaders, it was made clear, with hopes that all members were present, that Meranda herself declared her resignation. She made it known that she has stepped down.
“Now, when someone resigns from office, the associated paraphernalia is taken away. So, the question arises: Have you also resigned? Because we understand that part of the arrangement is for you to step down as well. Let them present the resignation letter. And if I were to resign, would I still be here? I’m sure you’d still address me as Speaker, even though we’ve never had a conversation before.”
BriefNaija earlier reported that Meranda security aides were withdrawn and Obasa returned to the assembly complex, where he insists on remaining the speaker.
Following his visit, other lawmakers rejected his claim and insisted that Meranda remains the authentic speaker.
This comes at a time of crisis and power tussle within the Lagos State House of Assembly, the internal leadership dynamics are fragile.
This has raised issues of accountability and transparency in political institutions which have been discussed in recent academic papers on legislative governance.
For instance, a study by the Nigerian Institute of Political Studies showed that internal conflicts and leadership crisis has risen by 30% in the last five years in similar legislative bodies.
This has generated a lot of public and media attention, the political leadership in Nigeria is under scrutiny.
Many have seen Obasa’s statement as a call for clarity and responsibility in the system.