Lagos Assembly: Speaker Meranda’s Security Detail Withdrawn Ahead Of Resignation…Why Gov Sanwo-Olu Left Her In The Lurch

Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Mojisola Meranda on Thursday had her security detail withdrawn and many had submitted that this was done ahead of the lawmaker’s resignation from her position.

The security detail which is a protective team assigned to protect the personal security of the Speaker was withdrawn on Thursday morning.

Hon Mojisola Meranda made history on Monday, January 13, 2025, by becoming the first woman to serve as Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly since the creation of the state on May 27, 1967.

Her political future, however, currently hangs in the balance.

 Recall that Meranda had become the new Speaker following the removal of Hon Mudashiru Obasa during the plenary session held by the lawmakers on Monday, January 13, 2025.

 Hon Mudashiru Obasa had won a sixth term in March 2023, and had on June 6,2023, gotten elected as Speaker for the third time.

Meranda is unsure of what the future holds for her because she is one of the people who are in President Bola Tinubu’s bad books.

The president is not happy that they removed someone he supported to become the head of Lagos State parliament without his knowledge.

Also , if she returns to her former position as Deputy Speaker, Meranda will serve under Obasa or his loyalist and this will be quite challenging for her.

Sources told Team@orientactualmags.com that President Bola Tinubu and his wife, Mrs Remi Tinubu were also not comfortable with the idea of removing the Speaker while he was out of the country.

The president and other party leaders had reportedly arrived at a workable solution to the festering leadership crisis in the state House of Assembly  and suggested the idea of having a soft landing  for Obasa which will have him preside over a plenary session after which he will announce his decision to resign, and a new person will emerge as Speaker .

Members of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) were tasked with putting the ‘peace terms’ into effect but because a good number of them supported Obasa’s removal, they foot-dragged on this important assignment believing that the president will stop talking about it and see it as something that should belong to the past.

Tinubu however proved them wrong as he set up a committee to look into the issue and this time around, the members were mainly, non-Lagosians.

The committee comprising Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Segun Osoba , Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake and others during its meeting at the weekend noted that Lagos Central cannot have the speakership and governorship positions and suggested that either the governor or the Speaker should resign and ‘No, the Speaker will resign’ Governor Jide Sanwo-Olu had reportedly quipped.

Speaker Meranda is the younger sister of  Oniru of Iru kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, Abisogun II .

The Iru monarch was the aide de camp to President Bola Tinubu while serving as governor of Lagos State. He later served as commissioner under Mr Raji Fashola, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and Mr Jide Sanwo-Olu before his ascension to the throne in 2020.

It was reliably gathered that the plot to remove Obasa was hatched at his palace before subsequent meetings were held at other locations.

 Team@orientactualmags.com learned that the major problems and challenges being faced by Meranda are ‘zoning arrangements’ and religion.

Before the removal of Obasa as Speaker, there was a kind of balancing; the governor – Lagos Central , the Deputy Governor – Lagos East and the Speaker-Lagos West.

Speaker Meranda is from Lagos Central; a development that made the senatorial district enjoy the privilege of producing occupants of the Speakership and the governorship positions.

Also, before Obasa’s removal as Speaker, it had the governor-a Christian, the Deputy Governor-A Muslim and the Speaker-a Muslim but with the new arrangements, it is now the governor-a Christian, the Deputy Governor-a Muslim and the Speaker-a Christian.

The president was angry that he was not informed before the Speaker of his state was removed and he also felt incensed that those who carried out this had lied to the people that he was in the know.

The GAC leaders were however busy trying to convince the stakeholders to have a decision-switch and allow Meranda to continue as Speaker notwithstanding the zoning arrangements.

The GAC leaders were asked to choose one among 8 lawmakers from Lagos West as Meranda’s replacement, but they had deliberately foot-dragged on it . They were also busy searching for a candidate who will not be loyal to Obasa and would be ready to join them in continuing to clip his wings.

Obasa may have however gotten the go-ahead to return to his position as Speaker since there has been a directive that Meranda should resign.

 It was apparently in furtherance of this that Meranda’s security detail was withdrawn on Thursday while that of Obasa was restored.

Sources told Team@orientactualmags.com that Governor Jide Sanwo-Olu has taken a decision to keep himself aloof from the ‘political developments’ because he knows the idea of removing the Speaker without the knowledge of President Tinubu will have serious consequences for the people involved.

It was gathered that it has already been made known that the lawmakers involved in Obasa’s removal will not get party nominations in 2027.

‘Governor Sanwo-Olu knows that there is fire on the mountain. There was an unspoken agreement that he will spend just one term, and he was lucky to get a second term and if care is not taken , he may not complete his second term.

He knows that the president was not in support of the ‘civilian coup’ they did against Obasa and he is trying to protect his head’ said a source

Recall that after having his security detail restored on Thursday, Obasa had arrived at the Assembly Complex at about 12 pm and headed straight to the Speaker’s office .

 He reportedly engaged the services of his strong supporters who forced the door open.

 ‘I’ve resumed, and I remain the Speaker of the Assembly’ he asserted on Thursday-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you