The ongoing speakership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly may soon be resolved as key figures within the All Progressives Congress (APC) work towards a breakthrough.
Sources indicate that both the impeached Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, and the current Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, might step aside to allow another lawmaker to assume leadership of the House.
This development follows the intervention of senior APC members, including former governors Chief Bisi Akande (Osun), Segun Osoba (Ogun), and Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), among others.
Acting on directives from President Bola Tinubu, the high-level delegation was tasked with addressing the political standoff, especially after the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) failed to reach a resolution.
The crisis erupted on January 13, 2025, when approximately 36 lawmakers voted to remove Obasa as Speaker, replacing him with Meranda, who had previously served as Deputy Speaker.
A significant majority of lawmakers accused Obasa of ineffective leadership, frequent lateness to legislative activities, authoritarian tendencies, strained relations with colleagues and the executive, abuse of office, intimidation, misuse of funds, and other infractions.
Obasa, who was in Atlanta, United States, at the time of his removal, has consistently rejected his impeachment, maintaining that he remains the Speaker.
“My status in the house? I strongly believe I am still the speaker until the right thing has been done. If you want to remove me, remove me the proper way and I will not contest it,” Obasa stated while addressing journalists on January 25, 2025.
On Sunday, key stakeholders, including Osoba, Ambode, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and GAC members, convened at the Governor’s Lodge in Marina to seek a resolution to the crisis.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting to The PUNCH, GAC member Chief Muraina Taiwo disclosed that party leaders were considering a lawmaker from Lagos West to assume the speakership.
“The issue will die down soon. Between now and the middle of next week, everything will become clearer. The APC leaders, including Chief Bisi Akande and Chief Olusegun Osoba, came to mediate.
“They will go back to Abuja to brief our leader (Tinubu) how they feel about everything. They are suggesting to Speaker Obasa that he should step down and the other woman (Meranda) to also step down and they will bring in another new person. They are thinking of submitting a few names but all will land at the table of the leader.
“You know the House is working based on seniority, that is, if you’ve spent two years at the House, you’re qualified to hold a higher position than someone in first tenure. So they will go back to Abuja with seven names of the seniors in the House and from Lagos West,” he said.
Taiwo further explained that the decision not to appoint a speaker from Lagos Central was influenced by political and ethical considerations, given that Governor Sanwo-Olu also hails from that senatorial district.
Focus on Setonji
While the names of the seven lawmakers from Lagos West have not been officially disclosed, insiders suggest that David Setonji is a strong contender due to his experience and seniority.
A senior APC source in Lagos, when asked about potential candidates for the speakership, stated: “Setonji from Badagry is being considered among them. He is the one who is not like a first-timer among those in the West.”
Setonji, born in 1959, represents Badagry Constituency II and has been a member of the House since 2015.
He currently serves as Chief Whip, a position he was appointed to by Meranda. A master’s degree holder, he previously held the role of Deputy Chief Whip and was also a former chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers, Lagos State chapter.
