FROM TINUBU TO TINUBU.
BY JAIYEOLA AJASA.
Mudashiru Obasa has been the most corrupt speaker in the history of Lagos State. A state notorious for creating and enabling very corrupt Speaker. As long as you are in the good books of Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu. Stealing with impunity is not a sin. Obasa has been Speaker since 2015. He has been corrupt since then. The question is what did he do wrong. Now we have documents of his abuse of office flying around making ways to media houses. His fraudulent contracts. His mistress. His abuse of his office. We all know who is in charge of Lagos State. And if you say Babajide Sanwo-Olu God will punish you. Nothing goes on in the State without the rubberstamp of the Godfather. And if you do not know the Godfather. Again, God punish you. It is a BABA SOPE State. The Governor of the state Babajide Sanwo-Olu is corrupt. He has a mistress.... allegedly. We know that. The Godfather knows that. Ditto for every politician serving APC in the state. But they are in the good books of the godfather. Their sins are overlooked. Just like Obasa's nefarious activities both in the House and in his Agege Local Government base was overlooked for decades. By declaring his political ambition. Obasa had to go.
How did we miss this? The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has reportedly berated the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, over the contentious 2024 Lagos State Local Council Administration Law sent to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.Visibly upset, President Tinubu questioned Obasa’s qualifications to draft laws that could destabilize the political harmony in Lagos State. He repeatedly scolded the Speaker for his perceived individualistic approach to state matters and his confrontational stance toward the state executive, the party, and its elders. A stunned Obasa was reportedly left speechless as Tinubu lambasted him for his alleged political misconduct and defiance toward the party, its leaders, and the governor. The President emphasized that matters concerning local government laws were beyond Obasa and the House of Assembly at this stage. Tinubu directed the Speaker to align with Governor Sanwo-Olu's directives, particularly regarding the screening, approval, and confirmation of board members for the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
HE WANTED TO BE GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE.
The recent comments made by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, about being qualified to contest for governor in the state has stirred controversy in the Lagos political space, GBENGA OLONINIRAN writes
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, in November 2024 said he did not lack the experience to contest the governorship race in the state in 2027, even though he noted that he had not given serious thought about becoming the next governor “as was already being speculated.”
Obasa said his major concern had been to strengthen the All Progressives Congress in the state, adding that this was why he continued to mobilise more people to support the party at all times, an act he said had been misconstrued by “political detractors” to mean that he was chasing a governorship ambition.
The Speaker said this in his remarks shortly after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu presented the state’s 2025 budget to the assembly.
He said, “To the blackmailers who have embarked on the mission to distort and redefine our mission, let me state it unequivocally here, our intention is to promote our party on the platform of mandate.
“Also, becoming governor is secondary; it is something that I have not given serious consideration. Nevertheless, that does not mean I am too young or lack experience to run; whereas, those who have been before me are not better off.”
The Speaker added, “In addition, it is also important to correct the impression from some naysayers who have been insinuating that I made payment to seek for blood relation in Ojo to validate my candidacy to run as governor. Of course, I have never denied the fact that I am Obasa. But rather, I have never claimed to be related to Onikoyi, Oniru, or any of the other popular Lagos families as the case may be. I can indeed never run from the fact that I am related to my Obasa family in Ojo. But I do not need local validity to contest or run. If eventually I am contesting, I will do so from Agege.”
However, opposition parties in the state have said the APC fielding Obasa would not be a threat to them, but rather more for the APC to worry about.
The Lagos State Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Tai Benedict, said if elections followed due process in the state, the Speaker is not a match for a potential candidate of the party.
“Obasa is not a member of my party, he’s a member of the ruling party – APC. If the APC deems it fit that he has gathered enough experience to be Lagos governor, that is their palaver, let them field him.
“If the election takes place in Lagos and Nigeria in general, peacefully as it is supposed to be, who is Obasa to threaten the PDP? The PDP has won Lagos State before,” he told The PUNCH in a telephone conversation.
“The PDP is (readily) on ground in Lagos but it’s unfortunate that things are not done the way they should be done in this country. If not, who is Obasa to threaten Lagos (PDP)? Obasa is not even a threat to our last governorship candidate not to talk of the experienced ones we have been presenting. He’s never a threat if we have a level playing ground,” the PDP chieftain added.
A Labour Party executive in Lagos also dismissed any sense of threat that may arise if Obasa is eventually fielded by the APC. The state Secretary of LP, Sam Okpala, said the party would be doing its bid and “we are not afraid of the people any other party will field.”
“For us in the Labour Party, we are doing our bid, we’re not members of the APC or another party for that matter. We are on our lane, doing our bid and getting prepared for the election. We are not disturbed at all by whoever or any party. It is Lagosians, the electorate, that will choose whoever wants to be their next governor. As a party, we are going to present our own candidate when the time comes.
“I believe whoever we are going to present as our candidate will be there to give any other candidate a good run for their money,” Okpala said in a telephone interview with our correspondent.
With Obasa out of the way. Is the path clear for Seyi Tinubu?
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