In insisting that he remains the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly – in spite of his impeachment in January 13, 2025 by an overwhelming majority of the House members, over alleged misconduct and sundry offenses – Right Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa seems to have stirred the proverbial hornet’s nest, whose fallout looks set to reverberate across the political landscape of Lagos State – even as key stakeholders gear up for what promises to be a keenly contested Governorship race in 2027.
Well before he was impeached as Speaker – while away on a trip to the United States – Hon. Obasa ruffled some political feathers when he refused to emphatically quell speculations that he was preparing a bid for the Governorship seat in 2027, saying instead that though it was not topmost on his scale of priorities, harbouring such an ambition was ‘not a sin’, and that he was ‘eminently qualified’ to replace the incumbent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu as Governor in two years’ time. Moreover, he had added pointedly, “those who have been before me are not better off.”
Soon after his impeachment (after which his colleagues in the legislative chambers voted as the new Speaker, the Rt. Hon. (Mrs.) Mojisola Lasbat Meranda) Obasa was slapped with allegations of corruption and financial misappropriation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), allegations which he has strenuously denied, describing them as ‘fictitious and unsubstantiated’, and part of the political vendetta that led to his removal as the state’s No. 3 citizen.