Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (GRV), the 2023 Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos, has strongly condemned the invasion of the Lagos State House of Assembly, describing it as a shameful display of political intimidation by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, GRV accused the APC of normalizing the use of force to achieve political goals.
“The APC has sort of normalised this idea of using intimidation and force to get their way, and that is what we saw today,” he stated.
Armed Men Storm Assembly as Crisis Deepens
Earlier on Monday, armed officers from the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services (DSS) stormed the legislative chambers, blocking Speaker Mojisola Meranda from entering for several hours. When she was finally allowed to preside over the plenary, she became tearful as lawmakers passed a vote of confidence in her.
The leadership crisis in the Lagos Assembly erupted weeks ago following the removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker and the election of Meranda, Lagos State’s first female speaker. However, Obasa has refused to accept his removal, calling it illegal and challenging it in court.
GRV: ‘Obasa Should Be Called to Order’
Rhodes-Vivour blamed the APC leadership for the escalating crisis and called on President Bola Tinubu and the APC’s Governors’ Advisory Council (GAC) to rein in Obasa before the situation worsens.
“His (Obasa’s) leaders in the GAC, the president, should call him to order. Lagos State has advanced way past this. We don’t want to go to new lows. There are civilised ways to handle these things.”
GRV also condemned the use of armed security forces in a legislative dispute, calling it an assault on democracy.
“Armed men coming into the assembly is a big low and a disgrace to our politics in Lagos. It’s completely disgraceful.”
Calls for EFCC Probe into Corruption Allegations Against Obasa
Beyond the ongoing power struggle, GRV demanded an EFCC investigation into corruption allegations against Obasa, noting that despite multiple accusations, no concrete action has been taken.
“It’s unfortunate that all the allegations that were brought before the former speaker, all sorts of corruption allegations, we have not seen anything come out of it,” he said.
With the crisis spiraling into a full-blown political showdown, all eyes are now on the APC leadership, security agencies, and anti-graft bodies to take decisive action before the situation escalates further.
