*It will be difficult for Assembly to remain same again
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have denied holding any reconciliation meeting with the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa.
Obasa was reinstated on Monday after Mojisola Meranda tendered her resignation as Speaker weeks after serious tensions in the House.
The tension had resulted from the removal of Obasa on January 13 forcing party leaders to hold various meetings with the aggrieved lawmakers for a solution.
A report had claimed on Tuesday that the Speaker was in a reconciliatory meeting with the lawmakers.
However, lawmakers who attended the meeting denied that it was reconciliatory. According to them, the agenda at the short meeting had nothing to do with reconciliation.
“First, one of the issues we raised as a reason for his removal happened again. A meeting scheduled for 1pm did not hold until 2.30pm. We were all kept waiting and when he arrived, there was no apology for the late commencement of the meeting.
“He went straight to the agenda after he passively acknowledged that we were still bitter with the way we were forced to bring him back and none of us contributed at the meeting,” one of the lawmakers said.
Another member of the House confirmed that a meeting actually held but added that “it was to inundate us about the case brought against us by the suspended Clerk, Olalekan Onafeko.
“The matter comes up on Thursday. Ordinarily, it is a civil matter, so we were concerned that he had to involve the Department of State Services (DSS) which further led to the invitation and arrest of some of our colleagues.
“Aside these, nothing else happened. The meeting lasted just a few minutes and we all left.
“I want you to know that his return was not a selfless decision by us. It was done simply because we respect leaders like Baba Bisi Akande and Aremo Olusegun Osoba. In our hearts and souls, we do not want him up till this moment.”
The lawmaker said there was still mass anger within the Assembly, adding that it would be difficult for the state legislature to remain the same.
“We are still waiting that he would throw in the towel and honour the agreement with the Baba Akande-led committee for the House to continue with the peace and progress it experienced lately before his return,” he said.
