Lawmakers at the Lagos State House of Assembly are considering writing to President Bola Tinubu regarding the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker.

According to The Punch, it was gathered that Obasa may be allowed to return to the House and voluntarily resign as Speaker.

This follows a lengthy meeting held by members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) at the Governor’s Lodge in Marina, Lagos, on Monday, where the decision was made alongside the lawmakers.

GAC members, who spoke with our correspondent, mentioned that the meeting continued on Tuesday, with continued arguments claiming that Obasa’s removal on January 13, 2025, was “illegal” and a disrespect to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos.

The lawmakers were reportedly directed to write a letter to the party’s national leader, Tinubu, to communicate their positions.

The GAC is the highest decision-making body of the APC in the state, and party members hold the majority of positions in both the Lagos State Government and the state assembly.

During the GAC meeting on Monday, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat were in attendance, alongside the leadership of the House and other lawmakers.

A GAC member, Chief Muraina Taiwo, stated that the council communicated the “mind of the party” to the lawmakers, but the lawmakers had already made up their minds to retain Mojisola Meranda as the Speaker of the House of Assembly.

Meranda, a former deputy speaker, was unanimously elected Speaker following Obasa’s removal.

Chief Taiwo, who recently criticized Obasa’s removal, told The PUNCH in a telephone interview on Tuesday that it was crucial for the lawmakers to allow Obasa to return to the House, where he may consider resigning on his own.

He said, “I’m aware that the GAC told them the mind of the party and the honorable members said they had made up their mind and they stand by it. They decided that they would write all their grievances and send them to Abuja (to the President).”

“Let us wait and see between now and tomorrow (today) or thereafter maybe by the time they come back from Abuja, we know the way forward,” he added.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the lawmakers should not force Obasa to resign, stating, “My stand is that they (the lawmakers) should obey the directive of the leadership (of the party) and allow the speaker to resume work and cooperate with him. To resign, that is his (Obasa’s) own decision, not that they will force him to resign.”

When asked about the directive of the GAC, Taiwo explained, “The directive of the leadership is that they should allow him to continue his work because the leadership has considered that if he has committed any visible offence, we would have known, and they have not reported him before. What they did is not right politically and constitutionally.”

He further stated that it was appropriate for the lawmakers to inform Tinubu of their decisions, saying, “We believe Tinubu is our leader and will continue to be our leader forever.”

Another GAC member, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that the lawmakers were indeed instructed to write to Tinubu.

When asked if the lawmakers would apologize to the President for not consulting him before making their decision, as speculated, the GAC member replied, “Yes, yes. They did more than that. They agreed he should resign and reverse the removal, that’s all.”

Earlier reports suggested that Tinubu was opposed to Obasa’s removal and had insisted that it be reversed. Consequently, GAC directed the lawmakers to send two apology letters to the President.

The first letter was to acknowledge their failure to consult party leaders before removing Obasa and to propose that his removal be changed to a voluntary resignation. The second letter, reportedly signed by 17 out of 20 lawmakers from Lagos West, supported Meranda as Speaker despite zoning concerns, and agreed she should serve out her term.

Meanwhile, GAC chairman Chief Tajudeen Olusi, when contacted by The PUNCH on Tuesday, stated that GAC would issue an official position when the time was right. He said, “At the appropriate time, we shall talk.”

When asked if GAC had indeed given the lawmakers directives, Olusi responded, “Have you ever seen a statement issued by the appropriate authority of GAC stating this order?”

“GAC is an organ created by our party and the government for internal assistance to governance in our state so if it is necessary for us to issue a statement, we will do that, so as long as we have not issued any statement authorised by our secretariat, forget about any such information as being official,” Olusi added.

The Lagos State House of Assembly has not responded to inquiries regarding the situation. The House spokesperson, Hon. Ogundipe Olukayode, has not answered calls or text messages as of Tuesday night.