Untold Story As Speaker Obasa, Demoted Principal Officers Engage In Fresh Face-Off In Lagos Assembly

Eniola Ajayi

Insiders insist, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa is no longer fully in charge of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The members of the Lagos State House of Assembly try to present a united front in public over the mounting allegations of corruption against the speaker, insiders disclosed that the resents over the situation has started running deep.

And serving as catalysts are the recently demoted and suspended  members of the State House of Assembly.

The lawmakers – two Principal Officers: Hon Olumuyiwa Jimoh, Apapa 2, Deputy Majority Leader; and Hon Rotimi Abiru, Somolu 2, Chief Whip while two other members: Hon Moshood Olanrewaju Oshun, Lagos Mainland 2; and Hon Kazeem Adewale Raheem, Ibeju Lekki 2 were     were formerly strong allies of Speaker Obasa.

Along with Senator Bayo Osinowo better known as Pepper, the demoted members, Obasa and a few others including Tunde Braimoh constituted the power block In the House societynow.ng learned.

But Osinowo was the main man with Obasa acting as the shadow leader – and everybody abided by arrangement.

Insiders disclosed Obasa’s move to completely eradicate Osinowo’s influence in the State Assembly after riding on his ( Osinowo’s ) influence to secure another term and retain the position of Speaker with the latter’s electon as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria resulted in the present mess.

”Part oI the arrangement that returned Obasa to the position of Speaker in the Lagos Assembly was that all members of the power block in the immediate past dispensation that got re-elected also retain their positions, but Obasa breached that agreement by orchestrating the removal of those he feels are excessively close to Osinowo from the positions of influence in the House as part of a grand plan to be fully in charge of the affairs of the House. A move that has obviously backfired” an insider insists.

The demoted lawmakers reportedly launched a behind the scene offensive that attacked the Speaker’s image of ”Mr. Integrity”. 

 Before the leadership of the party could wade in and broker a truce, political opportunists out for Obasa had hijacked the situation and transformed it into a raging mess for the speaker.

Obasa continues to suffer mounting allegations of corruption and immoral conduct with a staff of the House of Assembly – all which he denies through his media aides – even after the party brokered the ”truce’ with the members aggrieved over their demotion from principal positions of the Lagos Assembly.

Information at hand revealed while the aggrieved members insist that they have ”no hand” in the ceaseless corruption allegations sprouting out against Obasa in the public space, they have started an internal battle that threatens the Speaker’s position in the Assembly.

Societynow.ng gathered that when the leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Lagos State waded into the face-off between the sacked principal officers and suspended members and Speaker Obasa, the conclusion was that ”the situation should revert to status quo”.

”The suspension was lifted but the sacked principal officers were not returned to their former positions which was the status quo and this has resulted in another intense agitation against Obasa within the Assembly by the victims” societynow.ng learned.

Societynow.ng gathered that the aggrieved members are working stealthily for the Assembly to stop backing Obasa as a body and make the situation his ”cross to bear”.
insiders disclosed that the demoted principal officers know this would prove fatal for the speaker because it would considerably expose him to a searing probe with his position automatically on a precarious edge.

Those who should know revealed that the line of argument by the aggrieved lawmakers is that the allegations of corruption are against Obasa with his wife roped in and not the Lagos State House of Assembly.

They insist the House is unduly exposing itself to unnecessary ”attacks” by continuing to act on behalf of the speaker societynow.ng learned.

Insiders disclosed that conscious of the ”result” if he gets disowned by the Lagos State House of Assembly, the Speaker is doing all within his might – short of letting the demoted principal officers regain their positions –  to keep the ”myth” of a united front in a much needed move to survive the raging and mounting allegations of corruption against him.