APC chieftain asks Sanwo-Olu to intervene in Lagos assembly crisis, says Tinubu has bigger problems

Babatunde Bank-Anthony, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has asked Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos, to intervene in the leadership tussle in the state house of assembly.

The state legislature has been embroiled in a leadership tussle following the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as the speaker of the assembly, and the election of Mojisola Meranda as his replacement.

On Monday, security operatives sealed off the speaker’s office and deployed police and task force officers around the assembly complex amid growing speculation about Meranda’s resignation.

The assembly had requested the Department of State Services (DSS) to boost security ahead of February 18, citing potential security threats from Obasa’s planned resumption as speaker.

The lawmakers later passed a vote of confidence in Meranda, and adjourned plenary indefinitely.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, Bank-Anthony stressed the need for the Lagos governor to address the issue.

He said Tinubu may be cautious about making statements on the crisis to avoid being perceived as biased due to the existing power dynamics.

“I expect the governor, as well, to say something to this. He is the number one man in Lagos State,” Bank-Anthony said.

“He cannot ignore what happened yesterday because that is the parliament that he reports to; that is the parliament that makes the law for the state he is governing. The governor should speak up about this issue to the right quarters.

“Twenty-six years of democracy in Lagos, Nigeria right? Do you want to keep sucking your mother’s breast at this age? Let us leave this man (Tinubu) alone, he has a bigger headache.

“If Obasa cannot come to the House as a member, let him resign after 20 years in the Assembly. Let him give somebody else a chance.”

On January 14, Gboyega Akosile, Sanwo-Olu’s spokesperson, told TheCable that his principal had no hand in the impeachment of Obasa as speaker of the state’s assembly.

Akosile added that the governor believes strongly in the separation of powers and does not meddle in political skirmishes.