Mojisola Meranda elected as Lagos Assembly Speaker after Obasa’s impeachment

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The Lagos State House of Assembly impeached Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker on Monday, replacing him with Mojisola Meranda, the former Deputy Speaker.

Obasa, who had served as Speaker since 2015 and was in his third term, was removed over allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office.

The 52-year-old lawmaker represents Agege Constituency I.

Meranda, after taking the oath of office, became the first female Speaker in the history of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Speaking to journalists after the impeachment, a member of the assembly confirmed that the decision to remove Obasa was unanimous.

The legislator also announced the dissolution of all principal positions and standing committees in the house.

The Obasa-led assembly had been at the center of controversy in recent years. In 2023, the assembly faced public criticism after rejecting 17 out of the 39 commissioner nominees submitted by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Obasa denied any conflict with the governor, though the issue necessitated a meeting with the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos.

More recently, the assembly, under Obasa’s leadership, proposed a bill aimed at restructuring local governance in the state.

The bill sought to replace the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) created in 2003 under former Governor Bola Tinubu with democratically elected local governments, limiting the councils to the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) recognized in the 1999 Constitution.

However, Cornelius Ojelabi, the Lagos APC Chairman, countered the proposal in a statement, asserting that elections in 2025 would still be held across both the 20 LGAs and the 37 LCDAs.