Mudashiru Obasa
At the resumption of plenary on Thursday at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, announced the reinstatement of two suspended lawmakers, Moshood Oshun and Raheem Kazeem.
The two lawmakers were suspended alongside Deputy Majority Leader, Olumuyiwa Jimoh; and Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru, who were demoted on grounds of misconduct, insubordination and action that could destabilise the Assembly on March 9.
However, two days after the meeting of the Governor’s Advisory Council, the suspended lawmakers were reinstated to the House.
SaharaReporters had exclusively reported that at the meeting, a former governor of Lagos State, who also doubles as Chairman of Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Committee, Bola Tinubu, supported the Speaker as he asked him to use his discretion to direct the affairs of the House.
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However, Obasa tracked back on the decision of the GAC and reinstated the lawmakers following intervention by some bigwigs of the All Progressives Congress including Rauf Aregbesola, Minister of Interior; and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos.
Sources privy to the happenings within the party confirmed to SaharaReporters that the Speaker was directed to reinstate the lawmakers after having a separate meeting with them.
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“Some members of the GAC, dissatisfied with the treatment of the oppressed members of the Assembly, including the governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made a counter move between Tuesday and Thursday by securing a special appointment with Tinubu for the affected members of the Assembly to present their cases.
“An appointment was fixed for Wednesday morning with Tinubu where the affected Assembly members presented their cases to the former governor.
“Among those who intervened was the immediate-past governor of Osun State and current Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, who had a long telephone conversation with Asiwaju (Tinubu) and succeeded in convincing his boss on the need for an immediate reversal of Obasa’s autocratic decision against his colleagues.
“The Speaker was subsequently directed by Tinubu to reverse his decision and return to original status,” sources disclosed to SaharaReporters.
Meanwhile, Obasa, according to insider sources, is likely sitting on a time-bomb as moves are ongoing by some members of the APC to remove him as Speaker of the Lagos Assembly.
Some strong members of the political dynasty, beyond the reach or influence of Obasa, seem to be amalgamating forces against him.
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Obasa, who is not unaware of the ploy, is suspecting Governor Sanwo-Olu of secretly leading the lawmakers to impeach him.
“The Speaker once nursed strong animosity against the governor, accusing him of sponsoring members for his impeachment.
“This also stems the suspicion against the suspended principal officers,” sources in the Assembly said.
A former member of the Assembly and ‘kingmaker’, who is now a member of the Senate, is also making a separate move to report latest action of the Speaker to Asiwaju.
As at the time of filing this report, the senator is still in the process of securing an appointment with Tinubu.
The senator used to be the sponsor and major backer of Obasa but they fell apart when Obasa decided to be his own boss and also reduce the influence of the kingmaker.
The aim was to reduce the returns shared between them which is part of hundreds of millions allocated to the Assembly as monthly running cost.
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SaharaReporters, New York
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http://saharareporters.com/2020/03/26/inside-story-how-obasa-was-forced-reinstate-suspended-lawmakers
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