NewsOnline Nigeriareports that a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Babatunde Bank-Anthony, has urged the Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to speak up regarding the ongoing leadership tussle in the state’s House of Assembly.
This Nigeria news platform understands that Bank-Anthony’s comment comes following the escalation of the Lagos State House of Assembly leadership tussle.
Security officials, including policemen and operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), stormed the Assembly complex on Monday, preventing lawmakers from gaining access to the chambers.
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They, however, gained access to the chambers after hours of tussling with Speaker Mojisola Meranda, later presiding over the plenary session at the Alausa area of Lagos.
In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Tuesday, Bank-Anthony stressed the need for Sanwo-Olu to address the situation.
He said, “I expect the governor as well to say something to this. He is the number one man in Lagos State. 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.”
The APC chieftain also doubled down on the need for President Bola Tinubu to focus more on addressing pressing national issues instead of wading into the Lagos Assembly crisis.
According to Bank-Anthoy, President Tinubu may be cautious about making a statement about the crisis to avoid being seen as taking sides.
He remarked, “26 years of democracy in Lagos, Nigeria right? Do you want to keep sucking your mothers breast at this age? Let us leave this man alone, he has a bigger headache.”
The APC chieftain also faulted the decision of the former Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, to challenge his removal in court, adding that he should reign if he cannot return to the House as a member.
He said, “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.”
The crisis in the Lagos Assembly began when the lawmakers removed Obasa as their speaker over fraud allegations and elected Mojisola Meranda to replace him.