Speaker of the Lagos state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has denied any rift between himself and Bayo Osinowo, a former member of the state Assembly and current senator representing Lagos East at the National Assembly.
POLITICS NIGERIA gathered that Osinowo played a major role in the emergence of Mr Obasa.
However, an unconfirmed report has it that the duo had a clash towards the build-up of the 2019 elections.
In 2018, Osinowo was alleged of convening Assembly meetings at his residence without carrying Obasa along.
Reacting to reports of friction between him and Osinowo on Wednesday, Obasa insisted that the political empire of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in Lagos remains intact and strong.
“Tinubu remains everything to the continued success of the party he built from the scratch and nurtured up to this moment.”
“It is unarguable that his resilience, love for democracy, passion to see his foot-soldiers grow and belief in discipline cannot be measured.
Obasa maintained that the party in Lagos remains united and that what happened recently at the House of Assembly involving the removal of two principal officers and the suspension of two others was a measure to ensure that the legislature remains strengthened and its sanctity maintained.
“The legislature must remain strong at all times, especially in relation to Nigeria’s democracy because it is often the hardest hit where issues in the democratic journey pop up.
“This is why during plenary on Monday, March 9, I made this proclamation: ‘The parliament is a heartbeat of every democratic system, its sanctity, integrity and positive reputation should be guided and protected, hence discipline is a key and where it’s lacking, the hope of the people fizzle.”
To further prove that the House of Assembly is united, Obasa said 33 members of the House sat at plenary on Tuesday with the newly elected principal officers including the deputy leader carrying out their tasks as expected.
The Speaker further mentioned that he was with Oshinowo on Tuesday and that they both drove in his convoy, an indication that all is well.
“I was the one that dropped Senator Oshinowo off on his way to Abuja yesterday. If there was a rift between us, will that happen?” The Speaker probed.