A group, under the umbrella of Assembly Integrity, has flayed the Lagos State House of Assembly members for contravening the House standing rules for reconvening to remove the Speaker.
The group made the remark on Tuesday, in a statement, titled: “Lagos Lawmakers should not be lawbreakers: Due process is important.”
The unsigned statement read in part: “The Assembly STANDING RULES for RECONVENING the House provides:
“Where The Assembly Stands Adjourned, The PROCEDURE for RECONVENING in the STANDING RULES section 18 is very CLEAR as stated below, but this was not followed by the assembly in its haste to commit illegality as stated below:
“18. (1) Whenever the House shall stand adjourned to a date not fixed and it is represented to the Speaker by the Leaders of the Political Parties in the House that the House shall meet on a particular day at a certain time, the Speaker shall give notice accordingly. The House shall meet on the date and at the time stated in the notice.
“(2) Whenever the House stands adjourned either to a date fixed by Resolution or the Rule of the House, and it is represented by the Leaders of the Political Parties in the House to the Speaker that the public interest requires that the House should meet on an earlier or a later date or time than that on which it stands adjourned, the Speaker may give notice accordingly, and the House shall meet on the date and at the time stated in the notice.
“(3) Whenever the Speaker shall have given notice by either of the two preceding paragraphs, the Clerk shall communicate the terms of the notice to each member.
Sitting of the House.
“(4) On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, the House may meet at 10.00 a.m. and, unless previously adjourned, shall sit until 6.00 p.m. provided that at 1.30 p.m. the Speaker may suspend the sitting until 2.00 p.m.
“(5) On Fridays, the House may meet at 9.00 a.m. and if not prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.”
Recall that the lawmakers reconvened during recess on Monday, January 13, 2025, to summarily remove the embattled former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and replace him with his erstwhile deputy, Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, as substantive Speaker.
The event has led to controversy among various groups, particularly the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), polarizing the council.
Obasa, last weekend, returned to Lagos State after a journey abroad while addressing a large crowd of supporters, declared his removal as “unconstitutional,” maintaining that he remained the valid Speaker despite removal by the House.
