Icarus, Lagos edition

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly was impeached due to allegations of gross misconduct, financial impropriety, and abuse of office.

Mudashiru Obasa has been impeached as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly over allegations of gross misconduct, financial impropriety, and abuse of office. The motion for his removal, moved by Femi Saheed of Kosofe constituency, was unanimously supported by lawmakers. Obasa’s tenure faced controversy, including allegations of misappropriating ₦17 billion ($10 million) for constructing a gate to the assembly complex. The Deputy Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, has been appointed as the new speaker. Obasa’s impeachment is believed to have the backing of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, amid reports of a silent feud between the governor and Obasa.

The circumstances surrounding Mr Obasa's removal reveal the prioritisation of political alignment over governance accountability in Lagos State’s political machinery. Despite the gravity of the corruption allegations against him, Obasa’s dismissal was not precipitated by these charges. Instead, his downfall appears to have been triggered by political missteps that positioned him at odds with the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), Governor Sanwo-Olu, and, by extension, the ruling party’s apex leader and Nigeria’s current president, Bola Tinubu. This pattern underscores a troubling reality in Nigerian politics: accountability is often secondary to political loyalty. Obasa’s alleged financial improprieties, which should have been grounds for investigation and prosecution, were largely ignored until his political utility waned.

This scenario sets a disheartening precedent for public officeholders, who may perceive that they can engage in misconduct with impunity as long as they remain politically aligned with the powers that be. Obasa’s political trajectory will likely mirror his predecessor, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, who has faded into obscurity after losing the speakership. The impeachment is also unlikely to bring substantive changes to the workings of the Lagos State House of Assembly or the governance of Lagos as a whole. The deeply entrenched culture of patronage and loyalty-driven politics stifles genuine reform and good governance in one of Africa’s largest subnational units.

The ineffectiveness of state legislatures in Nigeria as bulwarks against executive overreach further complicates matters. In many states, including Lagos, legislatures function less as independent arms of government and more as extensions of the Executive. A culture of patronage ensures that lawmakers are incentivised to maintain loyalty to governors and party leaders rather than prioritise their constitutional role as a check on the Executive. This dynamic severely undermines the principle of separation of powers, leaving governors with near-unchecked authority to dictate the direction of governance and policy—state legislatures' lack of financial and operational autonomy compounds this structural dysfunction.

Despite constitutional amendments aimed at guaranteeing their independence, governors retain significant influence over the disbursement of funds to legislatures. This financial dependency curtails lawmakers' ability to challenge the governors or initiate oversight measures. Instead, many state legislatures prioritise appeasing their governors to secure access to resources and political patronage, rendering them complicit in the erosion of accountability and transparency. While Obasa’s impeachment is dramatic, it highlights the superficiality of legislative independence in Lagos and other Nigerian states. For meaningful change, the relationship between state legislatures and state executives must be fundamentally altered to ensure genuine oversight and accountability. Until this happens, state legislatures will remain tools of political expediency, unable to fulfil their critical role in strengthening democracy and protecting the public interest.