Thirty-seven members of the 40-member Lagos State House of Assembly, on Monday, passed a vote of confidence in Mojisola Meranda, rejecting the former Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa.
The resolution came amid speculation about Meranda’s possible resignation.
During Monday’s plenary session, Ladi Ajomale, (Oshodi-Isolo 2), moved a motion to affirm the Assembly’s confidence in her leadership.
Ajomale emphasized that Meranda’s election was conducted in line with the Nigerian Constitution and other relevant laws.
“We elected you as Speaker because we believe in you. We will demonstrate publicly that this decision was made by duly elected members of the House,” Ajomale stated.
He then called on lawmakers to affirm their vote of confidence in Meranda, urging them to stand and raise their hands, a request they unanimously complied with, as seen in viral videos of the session.
Adewale Temitope, the Majority Leader, who added his voice to the call, said, “Madam Speaker, the 37 members of this hallowed chamber of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu House of Assembly have spoken. A vote of confidence has been passed on your leadership.”
Following the vote, the House adjourned plenary indefinitely.
After hours of stand-off between workers at the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex and security officials who manned roads leading to the House, the Speaker of the House, Mojisola Meranda, finally gained access to her office and presided over plenary on Monday.
Assembly workers and lawmakers heavily guarded the speaker as she entered the hallowed chamber.
She eventually presided over plenary after the drama between security operatives, including policemen and officials of the Department of State Services, tried to gain access to the Assembly chambers but were resisted by some lawmakers and workers in the Assembly.
There was palpable tension in the hallowed chamber as lawmakers chanted solidarity with Meranda, insisting that they wanted her to remain the House speaker.
Thirty-two pro-Meranda lawmakers in the 40-member house, who passed a vote of confidence in the new speaker, said plots to make the new speaker resign her office for the former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa won’t stand.
Meranda became emotional as the lawmakers passed a vote of confidence in her on Monday.
While the face-off lasted, the assembly premises were militarised, with dozens of security officials and their operational vans stationed there.
Meanwhile, amid the leadership crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly, the Police Service Commission has approved the appointment of Olohundare Moshood Jimoh as the new Commissioner of Police for the nation’s economic capital.
Though the police commission did not give a reason for the deployment of a new police boss in Lagos, observers have linked the development to the protracted leadership tussle in the hallowed chamber.
Obasa was removed as Lagos speaker on Monday, January 13, 2025, when more than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative house voted him out over alleged misconduct and sundry offences.
Obasa’s then deputy, Meranda, was immediately elected the new Speaker, becoming the first female to take charge of the legislative body in the South West state.
A day after she became the speaker, Meranda visited members of the Governor’s Advisory Council to “brief them about what happened at the House of Assembly yesterday and to seek their blessings which we have gotten”.
Meranda met with members of GAC, the highest decision-making body of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos, alongside other members of the State Assembly at Lagos House, Marina.
Meranda, who represents Apapa Constituency I and ended the 10-year reign of Obasa, has also met with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu after she emerged as speaker.
Obasa, from Agege Constituency I, was first elected into the House in 2007. He has been in the chamber since then. He emerged as a speaker in June 2015 before his removal in January 2025.
On Saturday, January 25, 2025, Obasa said he remained the speaker until the right thing had been done, faulting the militarisation of the assembly complex during the impeachment process. He also claimed his removal as speaker took place in his absence — when he was out of Nigeria.
However, 32 lawmakers loyal to Meranda insisted that Obasa’s removal was final and that Meranda remained the speaker of the House.
The Lagos Assembly crisis has dragged on for weeks, leaving many wondering about the next step for the House.
Many claimed his governorship ambition fuelled his removal, but Obasa said there was nothing wrong with nursing that goal.
Weeks after his removal, Obasa dragged the Assembly and Meranda before the Lagos State High Court challenging his sack as the speaker of the House.
He asked the court to declare that his removal by his colleagues was unlawful since the Assembly was on break.
Lawmakers begged DSS for security, says Lagos Assembly Clerk
However, contrary to reports by a section of the media on Monday that officials of Department of State Services stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly, sealing offices of the Speaker and his deputy, it was the Assembly that invited security agents to maintain order in the Assembly.
In a letter dated February 14, 2025, the Assembly management told Security Agencies in Lagos that there was credible information that plans were afoot to forcefully reinstate the impeached Speaker of the State Assembly, Mudasiru Obasa, on February 18, 2025.
This, noted by the Assembly management, posed a potential security threat to the Assembly and its members.
The letter, which bore reference number LSHA/FAD/0/7554/323, was signed by the Acting Clerk of the Assembly, A. T. B. Ottun.
It was addressed to the DSS Director in the State, as well as the heads of other security agencies in Lagos State.
Entitled URGENT: ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES FOR LSHA PREMISES, the Acting Clerk wrote: “I wish to bring to your attention a pressing matter that requires immediate action.
“The impeached Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly plans to resume office on the 18th of February, 2025, as the Speaker, posing a potential security threat to the Assembly and its members.
“In light of this situation,” continued the Clerk, “we kindly request that you take necessary measures to fortify the security of the Assembly premises with effect from Sunday 16 February, 2025 by increasing the presence of your men and as well observe a strict access control within and outside the Assembly premises till further notice.”
“We look forward to your prompt attention, Sir,” he concluded.