The Lagos State House of Assembly Monday impeached Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker and elected his deputy, Mojisola Meranda in his place.
Meranda, who took her oath of office immediately, is the first female speaker of the Lagos legislature in the state’s history.
The lawmakers also dissolved all Principal Positions and Standing Committees appointed by the former Speaker.
Obasa, 52, was serving his third term as Speaker when he was removed from the position over allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office.
The Agege State Constituency I, representative became Speaker of the House in 2015.
Nigerian Current gathered that a member of the house, who spoke to journalists after Obasa’s impeachment, said the decision was unanimous.
“It is just a change of baton. It is only death that is constant. Change is inevitable,” the member said.
”The members of the parliament have decided to change the leadership of the house. And the Constitution makes it clear that the House has the power to regulate its proceedings.
“So, members of the house felt we have had enough of Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa; and today, we have unanimously agreed that Rt. Honourable Mojisola Meranda becomes the speaker.
“It was a resolution concurred to by all members of the parliament and so be it. Honourable Fatai Adebola as deputy speaker of the House of Assembly.
“And as we speak, all the principal positions have been dissolved. All standing committees stand dissolved.”
Who is Meranda?
Meranda was born in August 1980 in Lagos, Nigeria. Her educational journey began at Randle Primary School, where she completed her primary education in 1992.
She attended Anglican Girls Grammar School and later Ansar-Ud-Deen Secondary School, earning her West African Senior Certificate (WASC) in 1998. She obtained a Certificate in Software Development (Network Engineering) from NIIT.
In 2013, she graduated with a B.Sc. in Public Administration from Lagos State University (LASU). She later earned a Master’s in Public and International Affairs (MPIA) from the University of Lagos in 2020. She is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Public Sector Management at the University of York, UK.
She worked as the office manager of Cirrus Nigeria Limited in Lekki, Lagos, and was the Managing Director/CEO of Worthline International Services Limited, a company she founded.
She also served as the Senior Special Assistant on Intervention and Inter-Governmental Relations in Apapa Local Government and as Health Supervisor in the same local government.
Meranda’s involvement in politics began as a member of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), which later became the Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and eventually the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In 2015, she contested and won an election to represent her constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
In the 8th Assembly, she chaired the House Committee on Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA). She also chaired the House Committee on Establishment, Training, Pension, and Public Service.
In the 9th Assembly, she served as the Chief Whip. Until her emergence as Speaker, she was Deputy Speaker of the 10th Assembly of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
