The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, has allegedly rebuked the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, over the contentious 2024 Lagos State Local Council Administration Law sent to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for assent.
Lagos Panorama reliably gathered that the visibly upset President Tinubu questioned Obasa’s qualifications to draft laws that could destabilize the political harmony in Lagos State.
He repeatedly scolded the Speaker for his perceived individualistic approach to state matters and his confrontational stance toward the state executive, the party, and its elders.
According to reports, President Tinubu chastised Speaker Obasa for his alleged political misconduct and defiance toward the party, its leaders, and the governor, rendering him speechless.
The President clarified that matters related to local government laws were outside the Speaker’s and the House of Assembly’s purview at this stage.
Tinubu instructed Obasa to align with Governor Sanwo-Olu’s directives, especially concerning the screening, approval, and confirmation of board members for the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
Obasa was further instructed to conform to other instructions that would be communicated to him in the future.
The incident comes after Obasa, during the Lagos State 2025 budget presentation, declared that no serving or former Lagos State governor was better qualified than him to oversee the state, which boasts the fourth-largest economy in Africa.
His assertion, regarded as a direct indictment of President Tinubu, who governed Lagos from 1999 to 2007, also emphasized his ambition to run for Lagos State Governor in 2027.
The highly controversial 2024 Local Government Administration Law has been widely criticized as a tool for Obasa to install his loyalists as Administrative Secretaries in the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
This move is viewed as part of his 2027 gubernatorial agenda, branded as the “Muda Eko, Obasa Lagos 2027 Agenda” under The Mudashiru Movement (TMM). The proposal has reportedly caused divisions within the APC in Lagos State.
