Following the crisis that rocked the Lagos State House of Assembly, President Bola Tinubu met with the Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa and other aggrieved lawmakers behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
At the end of the meeting. the President, Vanguard, insisted that Obasa should remain the Speaker with a warning that he should carry his colleagues along.
It was further gathered that the President directed Obasa to withdraw the court case.
After the peace parley, Obasa declined to talk to State House correspondents who had waited to get the outcome of the parley which was held behind closed doors.
Mr Obasa had arrived at about 2:50 pm and was led separately to the President’s office, while his colleagues arrived earlier in two coaster buses that were driven through the forecourt route for the meeting.
Although the agenda was not made public to journalists at the time of filing this report, sources hinted that the meeting was in connection with the recent leadership crisis in the State House of Assembly.
Emerging from Tinubu’s office at about 4:30 pm, members of the delegation were heard chorusing the lyrics ‘On your mandate, we shall stand.’’
For about five minutes, the lawmakers sang ‘On your mandate, we shall stand,’ a popular political lyric commonly used by supporters of President Tinubu to affirm their loyalty to him.
The song rented the air as they filed out towards the two coaster busses parked and waiting for their departure from the forecourt area of the Presidential Villa.
Meanwhile, Obasa, who emerged from the meeting alongside a member of the House of Representatives, Mr James Faleke, resisted proddings to speak to newsmen as he made his way out of the Presidential Villa.
When asked how the meeting went, Mr Faleke, who represents Ikeja Federal Constituency simply said, “It went well.”
An unconfirmed report had it that some members of the House apologized to Obasa over his impeachment.
However, a member of the Assembly, who spoke in confidence, told Vanguard that the meeting was more of a peace parley adding that it was agreed that Obasa would remain as Speaker.
The lawmaker said: “Obasa is staying and we have no choice but to obey the President. The meeting was more of a family meeting.”
When asked whether the president reprimanded the anti-Obasa lawmakers for earlier impeaching Obasa, the source said: “No, it was more of a family matter. Mr President condemned his (Obasa’s) actions not to parley with us. He, however, said that since we did not carry him (Tinubu) along, and it was only Obasa that came to report the matter to him, he had no choice but to support him (Obasa).
“He also warned him (Obasa) that if there were any future complaints from any quarters, he would be gone. The President said he should let peace reign; and so based on that, we have accepted.”
On the pending matter in court, the source said: “The President has instructed him to withdraw it.”
Text except headline courtesy of Vanuguard
