Tinubu Moves to Keep Lagos Politics Stable, Disowns Obasa Reinstatement Plot

Today’s meeting of the Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governance Advisory Council (GAC) is scheduled to address the continuing speakership problem in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
I was informed that the panel would not discuss Mudashiru Obasa’s reinstatement.
Reports that President Bola Tinubu had ordered Obasa’s reinstatement were rejected by a GAC member who spoke anonymously to the Nigerian Tribune, calling them false stories propagated by his supporters.

Following Obasa’s dismissal as Speaker on January 13 and his replacement by Mojisola Lasbat Meranda as Speaker of the 10th Assembly, the Lagos Assembly has been embroiled in controversy.

With certain sections calling for his restoration, Obasa’s removal has caused division within the party’s leadership. Nevertheless, a senior GAC member rejected these attempts as unfounded.

The insider said, “The Lagos State House of Assembly crisis is the topic of our meeting on Monday (today), not Obasa.”

“The GAC had previously met with President Tinubu with a group that included Assembly leadership. There was discussion of the problem and remedies offered. The President’s allies are behind the false accusation that he gave the order for Obasa’s return.

“He was the first Speaker to be removed by his colleagues, and no one, including the President, is interested in reversing that decision,” the insider added. Tinubu will not meddle in this manner because he is a democrat.

Within the GAC, the speakership dilemma has also resulted in conflicts, especially between two powerful groups: the Justice Forum (JF), which is against Obasa’s return, and the Mandate Movement (MM), which is in favor of him.

The GAC source insisted that Obasa’s departure was solely an Assembly issue, rejecting any notion that the situation was a factional conflict.
“Neither the Justice Forum nor the Mandate Movement are involved in the leadership contest. People who are demanding Obasa’s return are not being honest. These are those who switched parties and are now back in the APC. “This has nothing to do with party factions,” he clarified.

The source restated that rather than reexamining Obasa’s stance, the GAC meeting is intended to ensure stability in the Lagos Assembly.

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Lagos has a robust political system, and Tinubu is still in charge of it. But he is committed to national administration and won’t let Lagos politics become unstable and poisonous,” the insider continued.

Additionally, he denied allegations that the attempt to reinstall Tinubu was motivated by Obasa’s purported knowledge of his political activities.

“What is it that Obasa knows that previous speakers and governors did not? “There is so much falsehood in the media because his influence is overhyped,” he said.