By Lanre Oloyede
Prof. Anthony Kila, Director, Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS) has stated that though the impeachment of Hon. Mudashiru Obasa as the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly by the members of the state legislature is not a big deal, but the process leading to his removal should be critically looked into.
Professor Kila stated this yesterday in an interview on a National Television programme.
Speaking on the issue, Kila said that his impeachment indicated that no one, especially political office holders, was untouchable, but said that to give credence to his removal, the process of the house on removal of principal officers must be seen to have been strictly followed and transparent.
The CIAPS director expressed that institutions in the country should grow above individuals, while erring officeholders should either be removed or called to order immediately, rather than waiting for directive from certain quarters by political officeholders before taking critical steps.
Kila further said that the allegations of financial impropriety levelled against Obasa by the legislators must be followed to the letter, while the former speaker must also be given the right to clear his name of the allegations.
He said: “I want every officeholder in this country from the President to the lawmakers to really know that nobody is untouchable. To the point that it’s a coup or not, personally, I am not interested in such. I am interested in the process.
“Was the process rightly followed? Are the allegations substantial? Once you can answer yes to those questions, it doesn’t matter. In this case, there are three major factors – political issue, administrative issue and the third one is the legal criminal issue.
“The legal criminal issue is that this man has been alleged to have misappropriated funds, we need to know the actual amount of money that was misappropriated and need to be investigated by the appropriate agency.
“The other issue is the misconduct. There is a need for substantial things that are to be told to us. What do they mean by highhandedness? Coming late for meetings? They have to be documented and I hope those documents are there.
“The third one is the political issue; when you have 32 or 38 members of your chamber voting against you; it clearly shows that you don’t have the confidence of your immediate constituency anymore. He has not got the confidence of the house, which he chairs.”
On the purported governorship ambition of the former speaker, Kila said that as a Lagosian, Obasa had the legitimate right to vie for any political position in the state in particular and the country at large.
He, however, insisted that the process towards his ambition must be clean and legal.
“If someone is removed because of ambition and not because of his competence or ability, then, we are in trouble, I advise those who are in the House and the party to make it very clear that this is not personal vendetta. Otherwise, the party is going to be in trouble.
“The public and of course those who are not too close to power would say ‘the day we show any ambition, then we are going to be slaves to some people.’ That thing needs to be managed,” he said.
Kila, however, advised Obasa against approaching the court to challenge his removal from office, rather urged him to approach the party leaders to resolve the issue.
But, he said he could challenge the allegation of fund misappropriations levelled against him by his colleagues.
Besides, he congratulated Mojisola Meranda, the new Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, but advised her to carry her colleagues and Lagosians along in all her activities.
Obasa was on Monday removed during a plenary session where lawmakers unanimously voted for his impeachment.
Following his removal, the clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, was also suspended indefinitely, while Meranda, previously the Deputy Speaker, was sworn-in as the new Speaker.
Also, Mojeed Fatai assumed the role of Deputy Speaker.
The lawmakers had accused Obasa of spending N17 billion on constructing a gate and N200 million on a Thanksgiving service, among other corruption allegations.
