By Kolawole Ojebisi
Chief Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), lawyer of the ousted speaker of Lagos State Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa has disclosed why his client has not been attending plenary sessions.
Fashanu said Obasa would wait for the court ruling before he returns to the Assembly.
The counsel said as a law-abiding student, “I don’t believe he would like to take any step that is illegal.”
He noted Obasa does not plan to return to the Assembly until after he has obtained a judgment from the court.
“That means he will be taking laws into his own hands, and I don’t think he would want to do that. If he had wanted to do that, I’m sure from day two or day three, he would have done that (returning to the House),” the lawyer said.
The Senior Advocate made this revelation during an interview with Punch Newspaper on Tuesday evening.
Fashanu also stressed that there’s no plan to withdraw the suit filed to challenge Obasa’s removal as Speaker.
Fashanu noted that the ex-speaker’s team was prepared for the court hearing fixed for February 28, notwithstanding the moves to resolve the Assembly crisis politically.
Fashanu reiterated that it could amount to an illegal step for Obasa to return to the House pending the decision of the case, which is already before a court.
Reacting to the possiblity of withdrawing the suit against Meranda and other lawmakers if the outcome of the planned internal resolution of the crisis by party leaders sits well with Obasa, Fashanu, said he had not been briefed by his client on such a move
“Well, that intervention, for me, is still a rumour, because nothing of such has been communicated to us, as the legal team. So, what we all read in newspapers, we don’t even know the genuineness or authenticity of the news on the purported settlement.
“Our client has not communicated anything to us in the nature of withdrawal. So, we are still preparing for the case until otherwise.”
Restating the commitment of the legal team to champion Obasa’s case, Fashanu said, “Nothing is certain in life except death. All we can say is that, as lawyers, we will try our best to facilitate the cause of our clients.
“Don’t forget that we are not the judge that will decide the case. But on our part, we will put in our maximum effort, and we believe he has a very good case. So, subject to the overriding power of the deciding judge, we are good to go.”
Obasa, who was removed by the majority of lawmakers on January 13, 2025, had earlier in February dragged the new Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, and the assembly to the state High Court in Ikeja, to seek redress.
Obasa was removed as Speaker of the House, while away in the United States.
He had since rejected his removal, citing illegalities in the approach of the about 36 lawmakers who removed him.
Upon his return on January 25, Obasa said he was still the Speaker of the House.
“My status in the house? I strongly believe I am still the Speaker until the right thing has been done. If you want to remove me, remove me the proper way and I will not contest it,” Obasa said while addressing newsmen on Saturday, January 25, 2025.
Since Obasa’s removal and Meranda’s emergence as the new Speaker, the Lagos Assembly has been embroiled in a crisis, which has proven difficult for the powerful Governors Advisory Council (GAC) to resolve.
