The former speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, has insisted that his removal from office was invalid. Obasa, who returned to Lagos on Saturday after a foreign trip, has declared that the impeachment carried out by the Assembly using a ‘fake’ mace cannot stand.
Speaking to supporters at his former official lodge in Ikeja GRA, Lagos, Obasa dismissed the allegations against him, maintaining that he remains the Speaker of the House until the right process is followed.
In his address, Obasa debunked the allegations of financial impropriety leveled against him. “Is it possible to construct an ordinary gate with N16 billion? It is not the wall of Jericho or the wall that demarcated the United States of America and Mexico,” he said of the claims of financial mismanagement.
He further refuted accusations of overspending on vehicles and events. “How can they say we bought one Hilux bus for N1 billion each and 40 pieces for N40 billion? Talking about Thanksgiving, they should compare the one they said we spent N200 million on and the one organized by the state government.”
Obasa also alleged that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police led a team of officers to invade the Assembly on the day of his impeachment. According to him, over 200 policemen also surrounded his private residence in Agege, blocking the entrance and preventing his family from leaving.
Obasa, has served as a lawmaker since 2003 and is the longest-serving member of the House. He has said that his removal was politically motivated and orchestrated during his absence. He further alleged interference in the Assembly’s affairs, stating that due process was not followed in his impeachment.