Fouad Oki, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has cautioned that the ongoing speakership dispute in the Lagos State House of Assembly is rapidly escalating into a major crisis that could become the most significant legislative conflict in Nigeria if not swiftly addressed.
“If you see what happened today, you will begin to look at Rivers State, the mayhem that is also consuming Osun State, you look at what is also happening in Kano, you put all of these together, and it will be like a child’s play to (that of) Lagos,” Oki said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday
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Earlier on Monday, armed security personnel from the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services entered the Lagos State House of Assembly, blocking Speaker Mojisola Meranda from entering the chamber for several hours.
When she finally assumed her position to preside over the plenary, she became emotional and teary as lawmakers passed a vote of confidence in her leadership.
The state legislature has been embroiled in a leadership crisis for weeks following the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as speaker and Meranda’s subsequent election.
While more than 36 pro-Meranda lawmakers in the 40-member Assembly have pledged their support to the first female speaker, Obasa maintains that his removal was unlawful and has filed a lawsuit to challenge the process.
The APC chieftain described the chaotic scene at the assembly on Monday as a disgrace and a setback for democracy.
“Today is a sad day for me and indeed for all lovers of democracy in Nigeria,” he said.
Oki said “enough of begging and enough of appeasement”, saying that he and other comrades who were in the trenches during the fight for democracy would defend what they believed in.
“If there are those who do not have a sense of history, those who may be either be benefactors of Hon Mudashiru Obasa or supporting him to cause a breach of the peace in Lagos, we will again put our lives on the line to defend democracy,” he said.
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