A former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Olusegun Olulade has said the impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa, former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly was not surprising.
Speaking on TVC News, Olulade, Executive Director, Customer Centricity & Marketing, Galaxy Backbone however said he was surprised because the same lawmakers who impeached Obasa recently passed a vote of confidence on him.
“It is very surprising to some of us that the lawmakers can take this bold step as a House. When the House speaks, it is Lagosians that have spoken. I will say that I was surprised that the members could take such a decision but at the same time, I am not surprised that it has come to be”.
“The former speaker used to sit behind me in the state House of Assembly before he became speaker. When he became speaker, though some of us have reservations then but at the end of the day, we all come together and supported him and worked together for the benefit of Lagosians”.
“Just few months ago, the lawmakers all sat down and said they passed a vote of confidence on the former speaker. So, if today, things have changed and the same lawmakers decided to impeach him, you should understand that there are so many things that are going on underground that might not be known yet. But I believe that as time goes on, a lot of revelations will come up”.
When asked if Obasa’s impeachment has anything to do with his rumoured governorship ambition in 2027, Olulade who represented Epe Constituency 2 from 2011 to 2019 replied in the negative, saying Obasa’s predecessor, Adeyemi Ikuforiji also signified intention to run for governorship position while serving as Speaker and he was not impeached.
He however noted that the disrespect shown to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) during the presentation of the 2025 Budget by the lawmakers, led by Obasa is unacceptable.
“There is nothing wrong with him being ambitious and there has never been any issue concerning that. He has a right as a Lagosian to contest for the governorship position. He is not the first Speaker to have done that. Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, during his tenure as Speaker also signified intention to contest as governor then, and he wasn’t impeached”.
“So, Obasa was not removed as Speaker because he has ambition to become governor. I think it was more of the members of the House and leadership of the party. We all saw what happened during the 2025 budget presentation by Mr. Governor last year.
We all saw what happened. That was why I said I was a bit surprised because these members will still come up and say they are impeaching him because all of them were wearing dark shades and the level of disrespect that was shown not only to the governor but to the GAC members of our great party is something that we consider as unacceptable”.
“I am happy that the new speaker is a very intelligent, diligent and woman of substance who also has a listening ear. The members have carefully chosen Rt. Hon. Meranda to succeed the former speaker”.