The Chairman of Governance Advisory Council (GAC) in Lagos State, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, says the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA) members do not have absolute powers to remove or install their leaders.
Addressing the ongoing controversy in the Assembly for the first time since Mudashiru Obasa was removed as Speaker and replaced by Mojisola Meranda on January 13, 2025, Olusi said, “Members of the GAC are not members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to allegedly be behind the removal of Obasa. It can’t be true.
With both Obasa and Meranda now laying claim to the Assembly’s Speakership, Prince Olusi stated CAG’s position to newsmen thus: “We read it also that morning. The lawmakers carried it out without consulting the party and those of us in the GAC. That is our position.
“We invited all of them and insisted that all of them are products of the party. They lodged their complaints, and we listened to them. I blamed them for one thing, and that was for not lodging the complaints before the Party earlier.
“It is for the party to decide, they (lawmakers) have no absolute power to remove and install their leaders. Nobody can become a member of the House of Assembly unless sponsored by a political party and the sponsors are the inspectors.”
However, he added that discussions were ongoing to resolve the crisis, saying, “The problem is the Speaker (Obasa) and his colleagues, which had led to his removal. It is a dispute among them. Currently, there is a high-powered committee of the party led by Chief Bisi Akande and members, including Aremo Olusegun Osoba, and former APC National Vice Chairman, South-west, Chief Pius Akinyelure, and others.
“They are working and making efforts to resolve the matter. I know they are in consultation with the House of Assembly, Obasa, and the other Speaker, Mrs Mojisola Lasbat Meranda.
“Those of us in the GAC and the Chairman of the Party, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, are doing all within our power to assist the committee”.
