Lagos Assembly alleges planned attack on Speaker, others over rejected cabinet nominees

The Lagos State House of Assembly claimed on Monday that anonymous individuals had planned to harm its Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, and other lawmakers in retaliation for the governor’s Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s recent screening and rejection of several cabinet nominees.

In his remarks at Monday’s plenary, Obasa emphasized that the House would not yield to intimidation of any kind, including “sponsored protests by some civil society groups and activists” because its action was “in tandem with the constitution.”

Obasa stated, “Before today, I had been reliably informed of the plan to attack the Speaker based on the decision of the House concerning the nominees of the governor, particularly the rejected ones,” and he had received a deluge of calls from individuals and members of the opposition.

While cautioning that “those who live in glass houses should be conscious not to throw stones,” the Speaker also said that the House had held back on disclosing everything it had learned during the screening of the nominees and that it would not “spill” its findings to the public.

There is this false perception that we are waging a battle against the governor, Obasa stated in response to suggestions that relations between the governor and the House were strained. I have no right to oppose the governor, and neither does the House. I’ll keep stating that the governor is a brother and a fellow worker on the Lagos project who serves the citizens of our state.

I’ve been a part of the system for a very long time, as has the governor. I served in this House as Chairman of the Committee on Rural Development while he served as SA to the former deputy governor, Femi Pedro. He served as Special Assistant on Establishment and Pensions, and I presided over the House Public Accounts Committee (Local Governments). I presided over the Committee on Economic Planning and Budget while he served as the head of LSDPC. I was elected Speaker at that point, and I held that position until he was elected Governor. Consequently, our journey has been long.

But I do wonder why some people assume there is a dispute with the governor whenever the House rejects a certain request from the governor. The executive branch of government has rejected a great number of resolutions that this House has passed, but neither the public nor the House has objected. I’m not sure what gives the false impression that the House is at odds with the governor because he is our brother and someone we will continue to cooperate with.

Obasa pointed out that while the House’s decisions are supported by the Constitution, so is the state governor.

He continued by noting that the House had its justifications for rejecting some of the governor’s commissioner nominees.

“But we have a constitutional obligation. In the same way that the Governor has a duty to tell the House of his nominations, the House also has a duty to vote “yes” or “no,” which we have done by endorsing some and rejecting others, each with a justification.

The House as a whole has abstained from disclosing what it learned during the screening, and we will not be compelled to do so.

Obasa said considerations went beyond Prof. Akin Abayomi’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19, which he described as an isolated issue in the state’s troubled health system, in his response to the rejection of the recently-retired commissioner for health.

“There were people like Leke Pitan, Dr. Jide Idris, and others before Prof. Abayomi. One particular case, COVID-19, was taken into consideration. We had Ebola prior to COVID-19, which was also managed under Babatunde Fashola.

Beyond all of these, we serve as the people’s voice, mouthpiece, eyes, and ears. Lagos’s healthcare system entails more than only COVID-19. Around the state, general hospitals and other healthcare facilities are located. What is there to say about them?

Engineers Ganiyu Johnson and Dr. Obafemi Hamzat served as Commissioners for Works prior to Engineer Aramide Adeyoye, and it was under their direction that the Ikoyi-Victoria Island connection bridge was constructed while Babatunde Fashola was Governor. Infrastructure was greatly improved while Asiwaju Bola Tinubu served as governor.

Therefore, we must refrain from alluding to concepts we do not fully understand. They made reference to Gbenga Omotosho, a former Commissioner for Information, and his background. But what about in-office behavior? Obasa enquired.

The Speaker continued, saying that as a politician whose party is in power, the interests of the people should come first for those in authority.

He warned people who intended to finance rallies or sponsored articles against the House to understand that they would not be able to convince the House to reverse its decision.

“Since it is a constitutional right, the civil society that has threatened to demonstrate should do so. However, we won’t accept threats or intimidation. Although we have already said no, if there is a compelling or pertinent cause for us to change our minds, we will do so—but not through threats.

The technocrats are getting appointed because we are effective as politicians. And if we think they haven’t performed well, we have the right to refuse, and we have.

We don’t want confrontations and instigation, Obasa declared. The House and the Executive are cooperating. We will continue to cooperate since we are brothers and coworkers, but we must warn fourth columnists not to cause any crises. And those who live in glass houses need to exercise caution