“Let new chairmen breathe”… Obasa warns ex-LG chairmen against wielding undue influence on successors.

…As the Assembly celebrates Mrs Remi Tinubu at 65

Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa has warned the immediate past chairmen of local governments and local council development areas in the state to release their stranglehold on their successors and allow them to work unencumbered.

The Speaker issued this warning at a meeting with newly elected chairmen (the second in one month) held inside the Lateef Jakande auditorium of the Assembly Complex on Tuesday, September 23. Speaker Obasa did not hold back in his outright condemnation of the immediate past chairmen who are reportedly still exerting undue influence on their successors. In the worst cases, according to him, many of them are still signing cheques in collusion with council treasurers and managers.

Obasa asked the new chairmen pointedly, “How can you be answerable to your predecessors? What you owe them is honour, not to allow them to control you. They have done their bit, and everybody is grateful; you are the ones in the saddle now. So, take charge.”

Sounding a note of warning to the overbearing past chairmen in absentia, Obasa said, “Let the new chairmen breathe. Let the public see that there are new sheriffs in town and that they are doing a good job. Let their work show. Don’t take their shine. Remove your grip on their necks.” The Speaker frowned at the ex-chairmen for mounting pressure on their incumbents to start paying for loans while in office, without giving them any room for due diligence or to settle down.

He warned, “Before you start paying loans, ask questions. Where you are unsure of what the loan was used for, ask questions and look through the books. If you can renegotiate or restructure the terms of the loans, do so for the betterment of your constituents.”

Further, the Speaker said, “Four years is not a long time in politics. So, if the public does not see what you are doing in four months (of being in office), you have created a wrong impression. As politicians, we manage so many interests, but it should not be at the detriment of the council and the people.” Then, he harped on the spate of deaths in councils across the state, saying that this was the first time such a thing was happening in the state and that it did not bode well for the party. He reminded his guests of the importance of taking their health seriously by doing periodic checks and admonished them to ensure they prioritise the well-being of their people.

Earlier in the day at plenary, members of the House of Assembly took turns to celebrate the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who marked her 65th birthday on Sunday, September 21. Hon. Oladipo Ajomale (Oshodi/Isolo Constituency II) started the plethora of plaudits and paeans. He described Senator Oluremi as a mother who has done so well for the nation, commended her for making life better for Nigerians, especially the underprivileged, and wished her great health and a long life.

Hon. Stephen Ogundipe (Oshodi Constituency 1) recalled that he was privileged to work with her during the second term of then-Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu and highlighted her loyalty and steadfast support for the President. He commended her selfless service to humanity, stating, “She is not just a pillar behind the President, but a woman whose actions reflect her genuine desire to uplift lives.”

Princess Lara Oyekan-Olumegbon (Lagos Island Constituency 1) said that Mrs Tinubu is worthy of celebration for her empowerment initiatives. She prayed, “On behalf of all the White Cap Chiefs of Lagos and my constituents, we pray that God will continue to guide her to be a worthy partner to our father. Other members also recognised the First Lady’s lifelong contributions to national development, humanitarian causes, and exemplary public service. They extolled her distinguished service as a Senator and her continued advocacy for the marginalised, the less privileged, and vulnerable in society, describing her as “the most impactful senator in Nigeria’s recent history.”

The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Mojisola Meranda, also noted that Senator Oluremi Tinubu is the “mother of the nation”. She prayed for her to finish well just as she had started well. Speaker Obasa, who presided over the session, thanked his colleagues for their eulogies, concurring that indeed, the ‘Birthday Girl’ was exceptional as a first lady. He noted that, unlike other First Ladies who would have discarded their successor’s pet project in favour of theirs, Mrs Tinubu, as First Lady of Lagos State, sustained the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) initiative, which has continued to impact lives meaningfully across the state and beyond.

“She is a woman with so many qualities. As a Senator, she served her senatorial district with passion, dedication, high commitment, and loyalty, which no one has been able to do. We congratulate her and pray that the Almighty will continue to be with her.” The Speaker asked the clerk to send the First Lady a congratulatory letter.

2027: Angry Lawmakers Plan Major Showdown With President Tinubu Over Constituency Projects Funding

Some angry Nigerian Senators and Members of the House of Representatives are planning a major showdown against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his executive, upon resumption from the recess, over non-servicing of their constituency projects.

Rising from separate meetings in Abuja Tuesday night, the Lawmakers appear to have concluded arrangements to mobilize their colleagues who are equally piqued by the activities of the executive, to put the President on his toes.

The meeting for the Senators was said to have been held in a private residence of a ranking northern APC Senator, while the Reps were hosted by a Member of the opposition from the South. Lawmakers from both opposition parties and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were said to be in attendance.

Top on the agenda of the meetings, according to different sources, was the non funding of constituency projects nominated by the Lawmakers in the 2024 and 2025 budgets; the only two appropriation exercise they were opportune to participate.

In line with the culture of maintaining a January – December budget circle inherited from the past administration, President Tinubu is expected to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly, anytime soon.

But that should not be expected, as the federal government is still struggling with the performance of the 2024 budget and has not started implementing the 2025 appropriation yet, even as the fiscal year enters the last quarter.

The Lawmakers, most of whom are warming up for 2027 elections, were said to be sufficiently angry by the way some of their constituents received them during this period of long vacation. Some who are in the ruling party, lamented during the meetings, that they were fast losing the supports of their constituents to new aspirants, over what they called “fake promises”.

“Imagine promising the people of our commitments to facilitate one or two projects to their wards in the 2025 budget, and with barely 3 months to the end of the year, nothing to show for it; whereas, the same projects are captured in the 2025 budget, but someone, somewhere, has refused to mobilize contractors to commence work. I wonder what I will be promising them in the 2026 budget, knowing fully well that they will still tag it fake promises”.

The Lawmakers frowned at the inability of the executive to pay contractors who had since completed projects captured in the 2024 appropriation, saying, that singular inaction from the executive has greatly hampered developments in their various constituencies and pitched their constituents and once loyal supporters against them, even as they brace up for 2027 general elections.

A top source privy to the Reps secret meeting, hinted that some Members have been drafted from various political parties and regions, to mobilize those in their blocs to make sure that, “no executive bill from the President will pass through the parliament again”.

A Senator from the South who was also at the meeting, described the President’s economic policies as “rhetorics” and have the tendencies of causing one’s misfortune in the next election, if urgent steps are not taken by individual contestants.

“Going by what we saw in these few weeks of our recess, I will just advise anyone seeking reelection, especially those my friends in the APC, to step up their games, if need be, go and take loans and prosecute your own election. Don’t go about campaigning for someone whose economic policies are as rhetorics as they are. His policies are already causing great set back for developments in the country, don’t go and incur the wrat of the people the more, by insisting your party must win at the center. Just carry your own cross and leave the people to decide”, he added.

Our Correspondent also gathered that Lawmakers from both secret meetings vowed to withdraw any further support for the President ahead of his 2027 campaigns, adding that, such would amount to insulting the collective sensibility of their constituents, who are already disgruntled.

Majority of the Lawmakers were said to have specifically blamed the Minister of Finance, Dr. Wale Edun and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGoF), Mr. Samsudeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, for the non performance of the 2024 and 2025 budgets.

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The Lawmakers, according to different sources, also regretted passing the Tax Reforms Bills, as well as other major executive bills that came through at both chambers; with some Senators vowing to stampede screening and confirmation of executive nominees, as they resume from long vacation on Tuesday, 23rd September, 2025.

Meanwhile, a group, Coalition for Equity and Accountability in Public Finance (CEAPF) had in a statement on Wednesday, demanded the immediate resignation of Finance Minister, Edun and the AGoF, Ogunjimi, accusing them of “failing to pay contractors for projects duly captured in the 2024 budget and fully executed by local firms”.

In the statement signed by its President, Comrade Segun Daramola, and Secretary-General, Comrade Isaac Idachaba, the coalition said it would formally approach the National Assembly and “lobby lawmakers across party lines to pass a vote of no confidence on the two officials if they refuse to vacate their offices voluntarily”.

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