Lagos Lawmakers Back Emotional Meranda, Adjourn Plenary Indefinitely

Lagos Lawmakers Back Emotional Meranda, Adjourn Plenary Indefinitely

After hours of stand-off between workers at the Lagos State House of Assembly Complex and security officials who invaded the hallowed chamber, 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.

While the face-off lasted, the assembly premises were militarised, with dozens of security officials and their operational vans stationed there.

Thirty-six 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 and adjourned plenary indefinitely.

The DSS and the assembly have since traded words over the presence of secret policemen at the House. While the DSS said its operatives were invited, the House denied placing such a request.

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 (GAC) 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 (APC) 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 since 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.