Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly who was impeached, has sued the Lagos State High Court to be reinstated as Speaker immediately.
Obasa says he was illegally removed from office on January 13, 2025, according to court documents the Peoples Gazette was able to access.
The Lagos State House of Assembly and incumbent Speaker Lasbat Mojisola Meranda are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed on February 14, 2025.
The lawsuit comes after multiple failed political attempts to resolve the leadership conflict between Lagos and Abuja. The impasse has continued despite President Bola Tinubu’s order for Obasa to be reinstated, with MPs apparently fearing possible reprisals from the ousted Speaker if he were to return to office.
Obasa said in his lawsuit that the plenary session that led to his impeachment was illegally held during the Assembly’s recess without the required authority, and thus unconstitutional.
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According to the filing, “The action challenged the Lagos State House of Assembly’s sitting and proceedings to sit during recess without reconvening the House or giving any other person powers to reconvene the House.”
Mr. Obasa argues that the session broke the Lagos State House of Assembly Rules and Standing Orders, particularly Order V Rule 18(2) and Order II Rule 9(i-viii), as well as Sections 36, 90(2)(c), 101, and 311 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Despite President Tinubu’s resolute position, there have been indications that the leadership issue has gotten worse. Frustrated by the hold-up in restoring Obasa, Tinubu recently turned down an invitation to meet with the Lagos APC’s Governance Advisory Council (GAC) members, claiming they were disobeying his orders.
But there is still a lot of hostility within the party. According to GAC member Muraina Akanbi Taiwo, “Moves to reinstate Mr. Obasa would be rejected.” Mr. Tinubu isn’t the state’s god.
