by 
The crisis brewing in the Lagos
State House Assembly, with the controversial removal of two of its principal
officers and members does not bode well for the Assembly and APC Lagos State.
This is more so at a time when the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is
enmeshed in various crises both at the national and state levels. At the Lagos
Assembly, the Chief Whip, Mr. Rotimi Abiru, who represents Shomolu II and
Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Olumuyiwa Jimoh, representing Apapa II were removed
during Plenary on Monday 9, 2020.
Although the leadership of the Assembly claimed that 27 members unanimously
supported the removal of Abiru and Jimoh according to the provisions of the
Rules and Standing Orders of the House, with the approval granted by the
Speaker, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, subsequent events did not support such position
as several insinuations were later ascribed for the development.
Obasa, while defending the issue, noted that the parliament serves as the
heartbeat of every democracy and its sanctity and positive response is key, and
therefore the need for discipline.
According to him, “It is obvious that the hope of the people is missing and it
is on this notes that I invoked Orders 68, 71, (4)(a)(b)(11) and (111) of the
Rules and Standing Order of the House in respect of gross misconduct and
insubordination and actions that can destabilise the House. I thereby vote and
move that Hon. Moshood Oshun representing Lagos Mainland II and Hon. Adewale
Raheem representing Ibeju/Lekki Constituency II be on suspension indefinitely.”
In what looked like a premeditated agenda, the Assembly quickly went ahead to
name two lawmakers as replacement for the affected officers that were impeached
in the persons of Noheem Adams from Eti-Osa Constituency 1 (as Deputy Majority
Leader) while Mojisola Miranda, representing Apapa Constituency 1 was elected
as the new Chief Whip.
But many questions are begging for answers, since this is not the first time
the Assembly would wield the big stick on erring members. What is, however,
curious in the recent development is the ‘military and desperado’ manner in
which the Speaker and his allies in the House moved against Jimoh and Abiru.
This was after a story entitled: ‘Lagos Assembly spends N2.4b on 80 cars
in 11 Months’ published in The Guardian newspapers on March 1 2020.
The report allegedly indicted the leadership of the House and some principal
officers of reckless spending, saying, “About N2.4b has been spent within 11
months to procure 80 cars for the 40 members of the Lagos State House of
Assembly. Information available to The Guardian revealed that sometimes
last year, a contract was awarded for 40 cars to be purchased for the
lawmakers. And less than a year after, another contract was awarded for the
purchase of cars for the Assembly members in December and January.”
The report also said that the vehicles for the six principal officers cost
N51.8m each, while those for the 36 members cost N36.5m each. The Guardian also
gathered that the new set of cars for the lawmakers was coming less than a year
after a contract was awarded for the supply of 40 vehicles for official duties
that cost N18.8m each.
Although the House Committee Chairman on Information, Mr. Tunde Braimoh,
claimed he was not aware any car was bought last year, he has, however, been
accused of being economical with the truth, as it was widely publcised that
lawmakers were given cars early last year.
Since the news came to the public domain, the leadership of the House has
stopped at nothing to get to the root of the matter and to find out which of
its officers might have divulged such ‘reckless’ information, not just to the
public but the executive arm of government.
It was learnt that several invitations were sent to the author of the story by
the House with a view to explaining his source while emissaries were also
dispatched to his (author) close colleagues at the behest of Obasa and Braimoh
but to no avail. It was insinuated that Jimoh and Abiru might have been behind
the release of the information to the media because one of them allegedly
opposed the move to purchase those exotic cars when it was initially discussed
at the Plenary sometimes last year. A source in the House claimed that based on
this, Obasa and his loyalists might have forced other lawmakers, especially the
new entrants, to move against the affected officers and members.
It was also gathered that some members of the House had been uncomfortable with
the lavish manner in which Obasa has been mismanaging funds in the House and
also his highhandedness in handling issues.
The list of 26 members that signed the removal of the two leaders are Victor
Akande, Sentoji David, Nureni Akinsanya, Noheem Adams, Saka Solaja, Lanre
Afinni, Fatai Mojeed, Rotimi Olowo, Makinde Rasheed, Adedamola Kasunmu,
Temitope Adewale, Desmond Elliot, and Jude Idimogu.
Others are Olawale Olayiwola Abdul Sobur, Ajayi Owolabi, Hon Lukmon Olumoh,
Kehinde Joseph, Tijani Suraju, Mojisola Alli-Macaulay, Mosunmola Sangodara,
Hakeem Sokunle, Gbolahan Yishawu, Fatai Oluwa, Abiodun Tobun, Folajimi
Mohammed, and Rauf Olawale.
The listed members were accused of having earlier been approached by Jimoh and
Abiru to move for the impeachment of Obasa. But beyond the issue of
extravagant spending on cars alleged against the Speaker, there are also some
external factors complicating the issue as disclosed by another source.
There is the widespread belief that Obasa was not the original choice of the
lawmakers for Speaker, but that he was foisted on them by forces loyal to the
national leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu following the role he (Obasa) played in the
scenario that brought down the government of the immediate past governor, Mr.
Akinwunmi Ambode. But as soon as Obasa got the nod as Speaker, he is said to
behave like the Lord of the Manor in the House. This must have placed him
against the likes of Senator Bayo Osinowo, who is influential in the House.
Source reliably hint that there were moves by some powerful forces within the
party to remove Obasa and replace him with a more pliable lawmaker at the
instance of Osinowo and former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
As a matter of fact, Abiru and Jimoh are said to be loyalists of both Oshinowo
and Aregbesola. But since Tinubu is currently busy with APC’s national
political intrigues, the senator representing Lagos East has been in charge of
the Lagos House. Those involved in the mutiny against Obasa include forces
loyal to Oshinowo: “the best form of fight is attack. Obasa and his cohorts
might have taken the initiative to checkmate Abiru and Jimoh before they did
the damage.”
Another reason counted against Obasa is his clandestine ambition to run for
senate through Lagos West in 2023, hence his various empowerment programmes
across the senatorial district in the last couple of months. But it was
gathered that the Aregbesola factor, which is entrenched in Lagos West, might
stand as a stumbling block to Obasa’s ambition.
The crisis in the House is also linked to the ongoing subtle war between Tinubu
and Aregbesola over the policies of Governor Gbeoyega Oyetola in Osun State
that seem to be unfavorable to the Minister of Internal Affairs and erstwhile
governor of Osun. Oyetola is a blood brother of Tinubu, who was actually not
Aregbesola’s choice as predecessor. Taking into consideration what is going on
in Osun where Oyetola is reversing some policies of his former boss, there is
no love lost in Lagos Assembly, where Obasa is fiercely loyal to Tinubu, who is
bent on checkmating Aregbesola’s loyalists in the
Assembly.
But curiously, the source noted that Oshinowo backed Obasa to become the Speaker
in 2015 and was also instrumental in 2019 when Obasa retained his position as
Speaker of the House in spite of stiff competition from the sacked Chief Whip,
Abiru and the current Deputy Speaker, Eshinlokun Sanni. Both lawmakers had
their eyes on the seat and enjoyed the backing of the former Speaker, Adeyemi
Ikuforiji and Senator Oluremi Tinubu respectively.
Meanwhile, Obasa has insisted there was nothing like division in the Assembly,
saying “The Kingdom of Tinubu in Lagos remains intact and strong.”
In a statement yesterday the Speaker denied having any rift with Oshinowo just
as he said instilling discipline among members of the state House of Assembly
should not be equated with friction in any form between him and member of the
party. He stressed that Tinubu had gone through a lot to build APC in Lagos and
Nigeria, adding that nobody in his right senses would do anything to be a clog
in the wheel of the party’s progress.
According to him, “Tinubu remains everything to the continued success of the
party he built from scratch and nurtured up to this moment. It is
unarguable that his resilience, love for democracy, passion to see his
foot-soldiers grow and belief in discipline cannot be measured.”
Obasa maintained that the party in Lagos remains united and that what happened
recently at the House of Assembly involving the removal of two principal
officers and the suspension of two others was a measure to ensure that the
legislature remains strengthened and its sanctity maintained.
Meanwhile, sources close to Tinubu could not make any comment when contacted.
But revelations show that the chances of Obasa surviving till 2023 is remote as
the forces against his leadership are amassing even within the executive. He
stands the chance of going the way of erstwhile Speaker, Jokotola Pelumi, who
was impeached.
Source: TheGuardian
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