President Bola Tinubu abruptly abandoned a meeting with members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) after they delayed his order for the reinstatement of the impeached Mudashiru Obasa as the speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
According to sources from People Gazette, it was revealed that the meeting did not take place as planned. President Tinubu, having learned beforehand that the council members had failed to reach an agreement on Obasa's reinstatement, called off the meeting. He instructed them to return and execute his order.
“The president had learned before the meeting that members of the council failed to reach a conclusion on his order that the Lagos Assembly lawmakers should reinstate Obasa, so he called off the meeting,” the sources said. “He told them to go back and carry out his order.”
Reports on Tuesday indicated that the GAC had ignored President Tinubu’s directive to reinstate Obasa. Instead, they proposed an alternative solution, offering Obasa a senatorial ticket in the 2027 election to relinquish his speakership position. This suggestion was made after a meeting in Lagos on Monday.
The GAC, a decision-making body formed by President Tinubu without constitutional or statutory authority to govern Lagos politics, also proposed removing Obasa’s replacement, Lasbat Meranda, and appointing a neutral person, provided Obasa accepted the proposal.
After the meeting in Lagos, some GAC members traveled to Abuja to meet with President Tinubu on Tuesday to brief him on the situation. However, they were left waiting for hours before being informed that the president had no business with them, as they were not there to carry out his order. They were immediately dispatched back to Lagos with the instruction to reinstate Obasa as speaker.
“The members of the council who had come from Lagos stood for hours for the president before they were informed that Mr. Tinubu said he had no business with them since the individuals were not there to carry out his order,” the sources stated.
The attendees were instructed to return to Lagos and reinstate Obasa as speaker, with President Tinubu's decision being final.