Lagos Lawmaker Obasa Challenges Removal as Speaker in Court

 The embattled Lagos lawmaker, Mudashiru Obasa, has taken his removal as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly to court, claiming that the lawmakers were wrong to have removed him when the Assembly was in recess.

He has dragged the Assembly and the new Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, before a State High Court in Ikeja, seeking an order for an accelerated hearing of the suit.

In a motion dated February 12, 2025, Obasa’s counsel, led by Chief Afolabi Fashanu, SAN, argued that the removal was unconstitutional.

The motion reads, “This action challenges the constitutionality of the sitting and proceedings of the Lagos State House of Assembly to sit during recess without the Speaker reconvening the House or giving any other person powers to reconvene the House.”

Obasa also emphasized that “Public interest requires the case to be heard and determined speedily and expeditiously so that legislative activities in the state are not stalled”.

Obasa’s application is predicated on nine grounds, including interpreting sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As amended).

He seeks an order fixing a date for the expeditious hearing of the originating summons and abridging the defendants’ time to respond. However, a date has not been fixed for the suit.