SPEAKERSHIP: Mayhem in Rivers, Osun, Kano will be a child’s play to Lagos Assembly crisis if, – Fouad Oki

By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTERS, Lagos and Abuja

Many watchers of the Lagos event say the Assembly crisis will remain for more time to come because the main man behind the show that Mudashiru Ajaiyi Obasa stages, President Bola Tinubu, cannot come out to speak to the 32 of 40 lawmakers who are now saying “enough of dominant politics of 26 years.”

For the first time in 26 years, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s grip on Lagos State politics is dwindling as things ow appear to be falling apart beyond his control with his supposed godson’s of yesterday challenging his orders.

This is as a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which Tinubu has controlled in the state from Alliance for Democracy (AD) through Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to the APC, Mr. Fouad Oki, warns that the ongoing speakership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly could escalate into Nigeria’s most significant legislative crisis, if not urgently addressed.

Many watchers of the Lagos event say the Assembly crisis will remain for more time to come because the main man behind the show that Mudashiru Ajaiyi Obasa stages, President Bola Tinubu, cannot come out to speak to the 32 of 40 lawmakers who are now saying “enough of dominant politics of 26 years”, adding that what is playing out is struggle between forces of non-indigenes unlawfully holding the state power since 1999 and the indigenes.

Our sources in Lagos and Abuja gave kudos to De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, a socio-cultural organisation established in 2024 to achieve a better state for long marginalized indigenes of Lagos State, for starting the struggle for return of power to indigenous people to be able to run their state by themselves and for themselves, without prejudice to other Nigerian citizens doing their legitimate business in the the state.

“This is what I believe has gingered Lagos State indigenes who have been suppressed to irrelevance within the politics of APC to now be eyes-open to their right. That is made possible when you even have a situation a powerful interest here in Abuja wants to unilaterally rescind and reverse actions elected members of Lagos State House of Assembly to reinstate a speaker they voted to remove on alleged issues of corruption and abuse of office,” an Abuja source said.

In his comment during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday February 17, 2025, Fouad Oki said that, “If you see what happened today, you will begin to look at Rivers State, the mayhem that is also consuming Osun State, you look at what is also happening in Kano, you put all of these together, and it will be like a child’s play to (that of) Lagos.”

It would be recalled that armed security personnel from the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) stormed the Lagos Assembly chambers Monday, barring Speaker Mojisola Meranda from entry for hours.

Meranda eventually gained access and presided over plenary, where lawmakers passed a vote of confidence in her leadership. Overcome with emotion, Meranda was seen tearful during the proceedings.

The Lagos Assembly has been embroiled in turmoil following the removal of former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and the subsequent election of Meranda as the first female speaker of the Assembly.

While 36 lawmakers in the 40-member house have pledged allegiance to Meranda, Obasa has challenged his removal, labelling it illegal and seeking redress in court.

Oki described the unfolding drama as “a show of shame” and lamented the setback it posed for democracy in Nigeria’s commercial capital.

Oki stated, “Today is a sad day for me and indeed for all lovers of democracy in Nigeria.

“Enough of begging and enough of appeasement”, saying that he and other comrades who were in the trenches during the fight for democracy would defend what they believed in.

“If there are those who do not have a sense of history, those who may be either be benefactors of Hon Mudashiru Obasa or supporting him to cause a breach of the peace in Lagos, we will again put our lives on the line to defend democracy,” he said.