The Lagos State House of Assembly has announced its plan to investigate former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa over allegations of fraud and financial mismanagement. The Assembly’s spokesperson, Olukayode Ogundipe, revealed this in an interview with The Punch.
Ogundipe noted that the probe would commence as soon as Obasa resumes his duties at the Assembly. “On the other allegations against him, when he is on the ground physically, those ones will be taken care of,” he said.
He added that there had been reports about questionable expenditures linked to Obasa. “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,” Ogundipe stated.
When asked if the Assembly would involve the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the former Speaker, Ogundipe explained that this decision would depend on the Assembly’s leadership.
He indicated that a committee might be established to review the allegations. “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,” he said.
Obasa, who was impeached on January 13 by over two-thirds of the 40-member legislative house, has denied the allegations, describing his removal as unconstitutional. Despite his claims, Ogundipe maintained that Obasa’s impeachment adhered to the constitutional process.
“The former Speaker, Rt Hon Mudashiru Obasa, is still one of us and will continue to remain one of us,” Ogundipe noted. “The process of his removal was constitutional. The constitution is very clear about the process of bringing him in in case we want to change the guard. That is the same procedure we also used to remove him. 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.”
