The battle for the soul of the Lagos State house of the assembly is hotting up ahead of the swearing in of the new dispensation. A group of aggrieved Lagosians under the aegis of Atari Àjànàkú have been chanting a war cry in their bid to ensure the Speakership position is secured by a Lagos Indigene.
Insisting that the era of total domination of the Lagos political scene by non Indigenes must stop, the group have pitted a member of the state’s house of assembly hailing from Lagos Island, Wasiu Eshinlokun against the current incumbent Hon Mudashiru Obasa.
Grieved by the fact that the kingmaker in Lagos, Bola Tinubu, the incumbent governor, the governor-elect, and the three senators-elect all trace their origins to other states, they have marked the slot of the speaker as their first port of conquest in their bid to erase the state of non Indigene influence.
Like the crusaders of yore on the eve of a holy war, they have been recruiting prominent Lagosians who are equally dissatisfied with the state of affairs to their cause. One of those approached was the Oba of Lagos Rilwan Akiolu. The smart monarch however rebuffed their advances after being warned by the powers that be to steer well clear of any plot to unseat Obasa who is allegedly from Egba in Ogun State.
In a move that is sure to further inflame the ire of the group, Tinubu’s right-hand man and former governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has allegedly pencilled down the Lagos State’s current Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Uzamat Akinbule Yusuf from Osun, as the next secretary to the government of Lagos. In the midst of all the hoopla generated by the activities of the group, Obasa remains unruffled. Having presided over the state legislature with a spotless record of excellence, he has been assured of the backing of the Lagos APC overlord in his quest to retain his seat.
