Some members of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State have expressed dissatisfaction with the election of Mojisola Meranda as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, following the removal of Mudashiru Obasa over allegations of misconduct and financial misappropriation.
Meranda, formerly the Deputy Speaker, was elected Speaker on January 13, 2025, after lawmakers voted out Obasa, who has denied the allegations.
A faction within the party representing Lagos West, Progressives Alliance, criticised the decision to shift the Speakership to Lagos Central, calling it an act of “injustice” against Lagos West, which they noted accounts for half of the Assembly’s 40 lawmakers.
This was contained in a statement by the group’s secretary, Segun Banjo, and made available to newsmen on Monday.
Banjo said, “We have no issue with Obasa’s removal. Our concern is that the lawmakers, in electing Meranda as the new Speaker, were not well guided.
“It is appalling and disturbing that they passed over all the eminently qualified 20 lawmakers from our zone, which has the largest electoral asset in terms of votes and membership of the APC, and handed it over to Lagos Central, where Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also comes from.
“It’s nowhere in the House’s rule book that if a Speaker is removed, his replacement must be his deputy. Furthermore, examples of political correctness guided by fair distribution of political offices that address both religious and sectional interests abound in the political space in Nigeria.”
The statement also criticised members of the Governor’s Advisory Council from Lagos West for failing to secure the Speakership for the zone, saying, “In any case, we leave them to posterity to judge them.”
