The end came abruptly for Mudashiru Obasa, six-termed member of the Lagos state House of Assembly who has been the Speaker of that House as well since 2015.
Ever since the 52-year-old was elected as a Councillor in Agege Local Government Area of the state in 1999, his career has witnessed a meteoric rise to stardom and power in the legislative arm of the state government, with massive influence on the affairs of the state.
Once seen as another of the untouchables in the politics of the State of the Aquatic Splendour, Obasa bestrode the Lagos politics like a Colossus via his influence on the state lawmaking organ.
By the time he was elected for another term as Speaker after the 2023 general elections, Obasa, at least in his estimation, loomed large while seeming to have come to the realisation that the next goal for him was to aim for the highest seat in the state.
With suggestive billboards springing up with different messaging, it was no longer hushed talk that the Agege-political giant was moving fast to spread his tentacles across the length and breadth of Lagos state.
While many dismissed it as another of those dry jokes, many others equally felt that nothing was beyond whatever kingmakers that lifted him this far in the scheme of affairs in the state.
NPO Reports recalls that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and some of his nominees as commissioners and special advisers had a dose of the fangs that Obasa’s House was about to bear when the list of cabinet members was forwarded to the House in 2023.
If anyone was under the illusion that all was well between the Head of the Executive and that of the Legislature, it was that list of Executive Council members that put paid to that notion as the House rejected 17 of those on that list.
Those rejected were Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Mr. Yomi Oluyomi, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose, Ms. Barakat Bakare
Mr. Gbenga Omotosho, Engr. Olalere Odusote; Dr. Rotimi Fashola, Mrs. Bolaji Cecilia Dada, Mr. Sam Egube; Mr. Olalekan Fatodu, Mrs. Solape Hammond, Mr. Mosopefolu George, Engr. Aramide Adeyoye, Mr. Seun Osiyemi, Mr Rotimi Ogunwuyi and Dr. Olumide Oluyinka.
Of all those rejected, the name of the state’s Commissioner for Health, Abayomi raised more questions than answers could be gotten as he was known to have done a yeoman’s job during the COVID-19 health crisis.There others on the list whose rejection stunned many forcing them to conclude that the Speaker was asserting authorities that he did not have. It was gathered that the matter had come to the attention of President Tinubu who was said to have been livid with the development.
With such an obviously unhealthy situation between Obasa and the Governor, the stage appeared well to have been set for a long drawn political battle. But Sanwo-Olu appeared to have mastered the art of silence as a strategy in political battles.
No one was taken aback therefore when, during the presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill by the Governor in December 2024, the floor of the House was turned into another scene for show of strength.
Obasa, in what amounted to nothing but clear political missiles, said though he was qualified to be Governor of the state, he had not given it much consideration adding a very clear caveat however that that was not to say that those who had been in the saddle were better than him.
No one was left in doubt decoding who the dart was meant for.
NPO Reports gathered that some members of the Governor’s Advisory Council in Lagos, no longer comfortable with the incessant poking of fingers at the eyes of the Governor, had called the attention of the President to the alleged overbearing conducts of Obasa.
But then, the most unforgivable of the former Speaker’s alleged excesses is the festering accusation that he squandered a huge sum of N17bn on the construction of the gate into the Assembly complex among some other alleged malfeasance.
In 2020, he was said to have been questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with his traveling document allegedly impounded.
But he had denied spending such amount on the Assembly gate saying “It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker had said.
With such allegations, controversies and perceived ‘wars’ with some political forces in the state, Obasa being out of the influence conferred on him by the Seat of the Speaker, there may be challenging days ahead with the political forces and even the anti-corruption agencies.
How the lawmaker carries on within the floor of the House as a floor member remains to be seen in the days ahead.