by Willy Okonji Lagos-
The Lagos State House of Assembly has announced plans to probe former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa over allegations of financial misconduct and fraud, with investigations set to begin upon his return to legislative duties.
Olukayode Ogundipe, the Assembly’s spokesperson, confirmed the probe in a conversation with reporters, stating that it would be initiated once Obasa is physically present at the Assembly. “On the other allegations against him, when he is on the ground physically, those ones will be taken care of,” Ogundipe said.
“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.”
Addressing the possibility of the Assembly submitting a formal petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ogundipe suggested that further action would be considered once Obasa resumes.
“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.” He added, “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.”
Mudashiru Obasa was impeached on January 13 by more than two-thirds of the 40-member legislative body over allegations of misconduct and financial offences.
However, the former Speaker has denied the charges, claiming that his removal was unprocedural and asserting that he remains the legitimate Speaker of the House. Ogundipe, speaking on behalf of the Assembly, reiterated that Obasa’s removal was constitutional and in line with the proper legal process.
“The constitution is very clear about the process of bringing him in, and in case we want to change the guard, that is the same procedure we also used to remove him,” Ogundipe stated. “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 remains firm in its stance and is awaiting Obasa’s resumption to decide on the next steps, including the potential investigation into the fraud claims.
