Lagos Assembly moves to end perennial landlord-tenant crisis
…As Obasa promises to continue enacting laws that will benefit society

Towards improving the typically fractious landlord-tenant relationship in Lagos State, a bill for a law to regulate the relationship between the two parties, including the procedure for the recovery of premises, has scaled through second reading during plenary on Thursday in the House of Assembly.
If passed into law, the bill, which seeks to redefine the legal framework governing tenancy agreements, rights, responsibilities, and the processes for eviction in the state, will ensure that all stakeholders—tenants, landlords, and agents—understand their rights and obligations.

Providing an insight into the bill, Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh (the Member representing Ajeromi-Ifelodun Constituency 01) noted that the proposed legislation is designed to bring clarity and sanity to tenancy matters in Lagos State. Also, the bill, he said, will promote harmony between landlords and tenants by unambiguously stipulating defined payment structures such as annual and monthly rent options, procedures for eviction notices, and the roles and responsibilities of agents, landlords, and tenants, while providing legal clarity for the courts in adjudicating tenancy-related disputes.

Similarly, Hon. Aro Moshood (the member representing Ikorodu 02) described the bill as timely and people-oriented, and argued for the provision of an enforcement body that can discipline landlords who collect arbitrary rents beyond what the law prescribes. He added that the law will ease the burden on tenants and help them plan their finances without undue pressure.

Describing the bill as a welcome development because it spells out the rights of landlords including issues around tenement rates, land use charges, and other levies while also affirming the rights of tenants and the jurisdiction of the courts in tenancy matters, Hon. Femi Saheed (the member representing Kosofe 02) said, “This law is long overdue and will modernize housing relationships in Lagos.”
Other members who spoke in favour of the bill lauded it for being inclusive and comprehensive because it addresses all aspects of tenancy, from agent engagement to rent payment terms and dispute resolution.

In his remarks, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa noted the necessity of considering both tenants and landlords. He urged the House to consider tenants who may only be able to pay rent upon receiving End-of-the-Year bonuses and annual Leave allowances.

Speaker Obasa also highlighted the rising cost of building materials and the importance of rental income for many landlords. He, therefore, stressed the need for the government to review its promises on housing delivery and ensure they are fulfilled.

Following the conclusion of deliberations, the bill was committed to the Committee on Housing for further legislative scrutiny. The Committee is expected to report back in three weeks.

Meanwhile, Speaker Obasa has promised that the House will continue to make laws that will benefit society. He stated this during the second reading of “A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Registration of Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage (Except Marriage under the Act) in Lagos State and for Other Connected Matters.”
The proposed bill aims to streamline the legal framework for marriage documentation and ensure accurate record-keeping for marriages and divorces across the state, including for administrative and official verification purposes.

Speaking on the bill, Hon. Oladipo Ajomale, the Oshodi Isolo 02 representative, stated that many marriage-related legal cases are often complex for legal practitioners due to unclear documentation. Therefore, he said that if this bill is passed into law, it will simplify legal processes around marriage registration and dissolution; assist embassies and foreign missions in verifying marital status during visa applications, and support uniform marriage record systems especially across the IBILE division (Ikorodu, Badagry, Ikeja, Lagos Island, and Epe).

Hon. Abiodun Tobun (the member representing Epe 01) described the bill as progressive and in line with modern standards of marriage regulation, as it provides both husband and wife with a clear understanding of their rights under customary marriage and empowers them to enter and exit marriages within the boundaries of the law. However, he expressed concerns over individuals who interfere with marriage proceedings and suggested that the bill should include penalties for such intrusions.

Emphasising the need for a proper marriage database, Hon. Bonu Solomon (Badagry Constituency 01) noted that Lagos State is moving towards aligning with global best practices in marriage regulation.
While noting that any marriage dissolution must go through a court intervention for legality and fairness, Hon. Solomon proposed that sanctions for single mothers who end marriages without legal backing and husbands who neglect their marital responsibilities should be included in the Bill.

Hon. Omolara Olumegbon (the member representing Lagos Island 01) pointed out the importance of child welfare and called for the inclusion of a provision for full child support, especially in cases of broken marriages, to ensure that minors are adequately cared for under the Law.
Speaker Obasa, thereafter, committed the bill to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions, and the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) for further deliberations.

2027: Group Launches ‘I-Vote Movement’ To Mobilise Nigerians For People-Centred Leadership

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a group of concerned Nigerians on Thursday launched a movement named the I-Vote Movement 2027 to galvanise citizens, especially young people and women, towards building a new political consciousness and reclaiming Nigeria from the current leadership.

At a press conference held in Abuja on Thursday, the National Coordinator of the Movement, Comrade Ishaya Inuwa Darkwa, expressed his frustration over the high rate of poverty among Nigerians.

According to him, the promises made under the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration have largely translated into “hopelessness,” as economic realities continue to deteriorate for millions.

He criticised what he called “unplanned economic policies” that have worsened the living conditions of ordinary Nigerians, citing empirical data to back up his claims.

He said: “You will agree with me that our nation is at a standstill. Nothing is working at the moment and the Renewed Hope we were promised is now Hopeless

“Since the beginning of this year, a critical question has been resonating across Nigeria: “Am I better off today than I was yesterday?” For the vast majority of Nigerians, this is not a rhetorical exercise but a stark, lived reality, whispered in homes fractured by hunger and screamed in the silent desperation of stalled ambitions.

“From the bustling arteries of Lagos to the tranquil villages of Lafia, the answer, tragically, is a resounding no. Since the return to democratic governance in 1999, despite five presidents promising a brighter dawn, each new regime seems to bring less hope and more profound hardship.

“Instead, Nigerians have largely received a relentless succession of economic experiments, a recurring drama surrounding fuel subsidies that consistently ends in public pain, a notoriously fragile national currency, and a poverty rate that has ballooned to alarming and unprecedented levels.

“A litre of petrol that cost ₦11 in 1999 now sells for over ₦700. The naira, once at ₦80 to the dollar, now hovers around ₦1,528. Inflation is soaring above 22%, with food inflation crossing 40%. Over 133 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty. These are not just numbers; they are lived traumas”.

Darkwa lamented that the Tinubu-Shettima administration’s simultaneous removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira without adequate safety nets triggered widespread economic pain: skyrocketing transport fares, school dropouts, closure of small businesses, and mass hunger.

He said the I-Vote Movement represents more than just another political campaign.

The movement, he explained, will activate its structures and grassroots networks to build an inclusive, intergenerational coalition focused on national rebirth. It will transcend party lines, ethnic identities, and elite interests.

Darkwa said the movement would prioritise local content development, social equity, and participatory governance while championing the interests of struggling families and marketplace traders—not just corporate boardrooms.

He urged Nigerian youths, women, and citizens of conscience to join the movement.

“The time has come for Nigeria to break free from the unending cycle of recycled promises and empty political slogans. The way forward demands more than cosmetic reforms; it requires a complete shift in how we approach leadership, governance, and nation-building. This is why the ADC Coalition is a welcome development—it presents a timely opportunity for collaboration toward a shared national vision.

“However, for it to be truly transformative, we must go beyond familiar faces and entrenched structures. The coalition must neutralise personalities and instead amplify a new generation of leaders—especially young people and women—across all party organs and strategic decision-making platforms.

“Our future must not be built around the politics of name recognition but around the passion, competence, and sincerity of those who are ready to rebuild this nation from the ground up.

“The Movement for a New Nigeria is not a campaign—it is a revolution of conscience. It is not powered by politicians, but by reformers—visionaries, grassroots organisers, policy thinkers, street educators, community mobilizers, and everyday Nigerians who are tired of waiting and ready to act.

“We will activate all our national structures to mobilise a people-driven movement unlike anything Nigeria has ever witnessed. This movement will transcend party lines and ethnic identities; it will be inclusive, intergenerational, and intentional. We will work with anyone—regardless of their background—who is genuinely committed to the transformation of our country.

“Our vision is simple but powerful: a Nigeria where leaders are accountable, where policies serve the people, and where every citizen—young, old, male, female—can live with dignity, opportunity, and hope.

“To the Nigerian youth, to every woman who bears the burden of a failing system, and to every man and woman of good conscience: this is your moment. This is your call to action. The dream of a prosperous Nigeria is not dead—it is just waiting for people like you to rise. We must refuse to be spectators in our own story. Let us link arms, lend our voices, and build a nation where our children can dream without fear”, he said.

Also speaking, Comrade Ibiang Limus, from the New Nigeria Initiative; Comrade Da Sam Odeli, the movement’s coordinator; and Prince Adebola Adekoya, the founder and Convener of the defunct Alliance For New Nigeria, called on the Nigerians to key into the movement’s objectives to wrestle from the current leadership of the country.

Nigeria in Reverse: How Tinubu’s APC Borrowed More in Two Years Than Buhari Did in Eight; With Nothing to Show for It. (Opinion) 

By George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com

When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over the reins of power in 2023, many Nigerians, even the skeptics, clung to a faint hope; hope that maybe, just maybe… the man who paraded himself as the “MASTER STRATEGIST” would finally change the economic trajectory of Nigeria. That hope, within two years, has been completely dashed. The data is damning and the suffering is deafening.

Under Muhammadu Buhari’s administration (2015–2023), the Nigerian government borrowed approximately ₦48 trillion. While the debt burden was heavy, it at least came with visible government intervention in the form of fuel subsidies, electricity subsidies, education support and other forms of economic cushioning that gave ordinary Nigerians a modicum of survival. Yet, even that regime was widely criticized for mismanagement, insecurity and sluggish governance.

But today, in less than two years, Bola Tinubu and his economic team (if one can even call it that) have borrowed ₦96 trillion, doubling Buhari’s eight-year debt figure without the shield of fuel subsidies, education support or telecom interventions. This is not just incompetence, it is daylight economic terrorism, weaponized against a helpless population.

“It is one thing to borrow; it is another to waste what you borrow while punishing the poor,” said economist Dr. Abubakar Sule in an interview with The Guardian. “Tinubu has weaponized suffering and made debt an addiction.”

The Illusion of Reform.
The Tinubu administration’s favorite buzzword is “REFORM.” He claimed that removing the fuel subsidy was a bold step towards economic recovery. Nigerians now know the bitter truth: the so-called subsidy removal was never about reform, but a revenue hijack.

Today, fuel prices have skyrocketed to over ₦900 per litre in some states. Transportation, food prices and basic goods have all become luxuries to the average citizen. Meanwhile, state-backed relief efforts remain largely cosmetic, if not completely non-existent.

Yet, the Tinubu led APC GOVERNMENT keeps BORROWING.

Where is the money going? Infrastructure? No. Healthcare? No. Education? Not even close. Security? Zero.

Instead, we’re seeing lavish government spending on luxury convoys, foreign trips, vanity projects like the N10 billion solar panels for Aso Rock and an obscene increase in the cost of governance. To quote Professor Pat Utomi, “This government behaves like a carnival of clowns dancing on the graves of the poor.”

The Death of Education and Social Protection.
Under Buhari, Nigeria’s public universities went on strike multiple times, but at least there were subsidies and dialogue. Under Tinubu, universities are crumbling, secondary school education is deteriorating and teachers are unpaid across several states. Yet the President recently announced scholarships for foreign students in St. Lucia, while Nigerian students sit idle in classrooms without chairs, teachers or hope.

How does a president remove educational subsidies at home and then dish out scholarships abroad? That is not statesmanship; it is state-sponsored stupidity.

In the words of Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, “We are living in a time when our leaders treat Nigeria as a burden they must escape from, not a country they are building.”

The Subsidy Lie and Economic Collapse.
When Tinubu removed fuel subsidies in May 2023, he proclaimed: “Subsidy is gone!” Nigerians cheered, hoping the savings would lead to increased capital projects, job creation and economic growth.

What has followed is an ECONOMIC HORROR MOVIE. The removal of fuel subsidy without any social cushioning measures has plunged millions into multi-dimensional poverty. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), over 133 million Nigerians are now classified as multi-dimensionally poor. This is not just a number; it is a nation being eaten alive from within.

Worse still, the government still pays quasi-subsidies through NNPC in a complex web of opaque forex deals. According to a report by Premium Times, the government secretly paid over ₦3.6 trillion in “under-recovery” to oil marketers in the past year alone proving that subsidy is not dead, it has just changed clothes and gone underground.

So what then was the purpose of the suffering?

A Government of Borrowers and Beggars.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed in Q1 2025 that the country’s public debt now stands at over ₦121 trillion, with Tinubu’s administration accounting for ₦96 trillion of that figure. This level of borrowing in just 23 months is not only unsustainable; it is economic sabotage disguised as policy.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has warned that the country is now spending 96% of its revenue on debt servicing. That means out of every ₦100 the government earns, ₦96 goes to repaying debt, leaving only ₦4 for education, healthcare, infrastructure and security.

This is not GOVERNANCE. This is NATIONAL ECONOMIC ENSLAVEMENT.

Agents of APC vs Agents of Change.
It must be said loud and clear: anyone who is against the coalition movement to unseat APC in 2027 is an enemy of the Nigerian people. They are either benefitting from this disaster or are complicit in its continuation. Every well-meaning Nigerian, regardless of party lines, tribe or religion, must now unite behind a people-centered coalition.

This is no longer about party politics; it is about NATIONAL SURVIVAL.

The Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Labour Party (LP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and splinter PDP blocs forming a revolutionary alliance is not a threat to democracy, it is democracy’s last hope. The fear the ruling party is showing (blocking event venues, intimidating coalition leaders and promoting disinformation) is a confirmation that they are threatened by the truth.

“When the government is more afraid of a coalition than Boko Haram, you know the system is collapsing,” said activist and writer Aisha Yesufu.

APC Must Go: 2027 is Non-Negotiable.
The 2023 election was marred by INEC’s failure, judicial compromise and massive electoral manipulation. Despite the controversy, Bola Tinubu was sworn in; but legitimacy cannot be enforced by courts alone, it must be earned through service, competence and results.

Tinubu has failed on all three counts.

The APC has destroyed the ECONOMY, eroded HUMAN DIGNITY and CRIMINALIZED the right to PROTEST. Under their watch:

The naira collapsed from ₦450/$ to over ₦1,500/$.

Inflation soared to over 34% as of May 2025.

Food prices have more than tripled, with basic items like rice costing over ₦70,000 per bag.

Unemployment and underemployment have become the norm.

Nigerians cannot afford another four years of this nightmare. 2027 must be the end of APC and the beginning of a people-first era.

Final Word.
We must not be fooled by propaganda, token gestures or last-minute giveaways as 2027 approaches. Nigeria is on life support and the ventilator is failing. The debt crisis, the collapse of social systems and the impoverishment of the masses are all signs of a failed state in the making.

We can still change the story. The coalition is the beginning of Nigeria’s rescue mission and those who oppose it are either afraid of change or accomplices in destruction.

“When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

In 2027, Nigerians must choose resistance. The future of over 200 million people is at stake.

#EndAPCMisrule #CoalitionForRescue #NigeriaWillRiseAgain

Written by George Omagbemi Sylvester | Published by SaharaWeeklyNG.com