Obasa faces formal fraud probe after sack for alleged corruption
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Lagos lawmakers have announced that plans are afoot to investigate for alleged fraud Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker they impeached on January 13 while he was luxuriating in his alleged home in far away Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Obasa has boasted that he remains Speaker because he was illegally removed, but he did not show up when the Assembly reconvened on Monday.
Lagos Assembly spokesperson Olukayode Ogundipe said the lawmakers are expecting Obasa to resume in the Assembly before they finalise their next line of action, including probe.
“On the other allegations against him, when he is on the ground physically, those ones will be taken care of,” Ogundipe told The PUNCH.
“There are other things we’ve also been hearing about different amounts of money being spent by him. We felt we didn’t know how they got the record of those, but the ones we have, when he’s seated with us, actions will be taken.”
Will the Assembly submit a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe Obasa? he was asked.
Ogundipe replied: “That will be expatiated when he’s on the ground, probably a committee will be set up to look into it or probably it will also be looked at by the leadership of the House.
“Those formalities as per procedures will be followed to the letter. So I’m sure you should expect the House to react to that when the time comes.”
The lawmakers removed Obasa two weeks ago, citing high-handedness and corruption, among other allegations.
But Obasa, who spoke publicly on the matter at the weekend, dismissed the corruption allegation, argued his impeachment did not follow procedure, and insisted he remains the authentic Speaker.
“If you want to claim that I’m corrupt, please prove it, let us see it,” Obasa told supporters who welcomed him at the Speaker’s Lodge on Saturday.
Ogundipe countered on Monday that Obasa was lawfully impeached.
His words: “I want to say that the former Speaker, Rt Hon Mudashiru Obasa, is still one of us and will continue to remain one of us and the process of his removal was constitutional.
“As I said, the Constitution is very clear about the process of bringing him in in case we want to change the guard, that is the same procedure we also used to remove him. The process was duly followed, and the members, we know what we saw, and we intended to change guard and that’s exactly what we did.”
The Assembly failed to hold plenary on Monday as earlier scheduled.
Security was beefed up around and on the premises, with journalists and other individuals who wanted to enter the complex screened.
Journalists were lined up at the second gate to the Assembly; security officials requested their identity cards, and others who could not identify themselves were refused entry.
The heightened security followed Obasa’s comment two days earlier when he claimed to be the Speaker until the lawmakers follow “the right process” to remove him from office, even as he was sacked by a majority of his colleagues on January 13 following allegations of misconduct and financial misappropriation.
He was replaced by former Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda who officially entered the Speaker’s office on Monday morning flanked by fellow lawmakers who support her.
Ogundipe explained that plenary did not hold on Monday as originally scheduled in order to enable members settle down and show that the Assembly is peaceful.
Obasa stayed away but Ogundipe clarified that “We are also expecting him to be here with us so that they can see it is not about the noise outside, it is a very calm place.”
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