The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has denied that Speaker Mudashiru Obasa had a resignation agreement, as part of the deal to resolve the leadership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Vanguard reports.
Reacting to rumours about Obasa’s resignation, the APC spokesperson in Lagos, Seye Oladejo, dismissed the claim.
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“To the best of my knowledge, there was no time the arrangement for Obasa to resign came up in the terms of settlement of the crisis,” Oladejo said.
When asked if Obasa would drop the lawsuit, Oladejo said, “I’m aware that any moment from now, Obasa will withdraw the lawsuit in the interest of renewed peace and progress of the House in particular and the party in general.”
On Tuesday, Obasa met with 39 lawmakers behind closed doors at the assembly complex.
The meeting, which started at about 2:10 p.m., was attended by the Deputy Speaker, Mrs. Mojisola Meranda.
It was gathered that the meeting was aimed at easing tensions and bringing the aggrieved lawmakers back on board.
This came after Obasa was re-elected as Speaker on Monday following Mojisola Meranda‘s resignation from the position.
In January, the lawmakers removed Obasa as Speaker, accusing him of poor leadership, abuse of power, frequent lateness to plenary sessions, and intimidating colleagues.
Over 90 per cent of the lawmakers backed the impeachment.
Obasa, however, rejected the decision, saying the lawmakers did not follow the constitutional process for his removal.
He also denied the corruption allegations, calling the claims of financial misappropriation “impossible.”
To resolve the crisis, the Governor’s Advisory Council, led by Pa Tajudeen Olusi, along with APC chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi; Lagos Attorney-General Lawal Pedro, and other party leaders, met with the opposing lawmakers.
There were speculations that as part of the agreement, Meranda would resign so that Obasa could return as Speaker.
However, sources claimed that Obasa was also expected to step down after 48 hours to allow a new Speaker from Lagos West, as demanded by the 34 lawmakers.
Reports indicated that the lawmakers insisting on this arrangement expect it to be followed up with an official letter.