The saga took a twist as the quest to return Obasa as speaker suffered a set-back while Sanwo-Olu’s job reportedly came on the line over the zoning configurations in the state.
According to The Vanguard, it was reported that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the new speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Meranda, are from Lagos Central and a peace proposal was that either of the two – Sanwo-Olu or Meranda, should step down to restore the zoning configuration.
Before Obasa was removed, the three senatorial districts in Lagos had representation in the top three positions in the state government. Sanwo-Olu, who is from Lagos Central, was the governor, Hamzat, from Lagos East, was the deputy governor, and Obasa, from Lagos West, was the speaker of the state assembly.
Obasa had been the speaker for a long time, making him one of the longest-serving speakers in Lagos history. He was also considered a close ally of President Tinubu, especially in Lagos West, which holds about half of the state’s population. With the exit of Rauf Aregbesola from the political family of Tinubu, Obasa’s influence grew.
Sources suggest that Obasa had become an important figure for the president, helping to stabilize the political scene in Lagos. Despite the president’s dissatisfaction with Obasa’s reported arrogance towards Governor Sanwo-Olu, he did not approve of Obasa’s removal.
Obasa’s removal caused a lot of political tension in the state, as it divided members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). President Tinubu was concerned about Obasa’s removal and the appointment of Meranda, a new speaker from Lagos Central. The concern was that now both the governor and the speaker were from Lagos Central, while Lagos East had the deputy governor, leaving Lagos West without any key positions.
To address the situation, President Tinubu instructed the Lagos Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) to resolve the issue by ensuring that either the governor or the new speaker from Lagos Central stepped down. However, when lawmakers from Lagos West met with GAC members, they firmly expressed support for the new speaker instead of advocating for Obasa to return. This made it clear that Obasa would not be returning as the speaker.
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