2025 was, no doubt, a challenging year for the Lagos State House of Assembly. It was the year the House witnessed one of its worst leadership crises since 1999, with the removal of the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa and his subsequent reinstatement, amidst allegations of misconduct and abuse of power.
The removal of Obasa,by 36 lawmakers on Jan.13 and election of Mrs Mojisola Meranda,the Deputy Speaker, as his replacement was,according to the lawmakers, intended to birth a new era of accountable leadership in the House.
Instead,the action against the Speaker, who was at the time was overseas, plunged the House in an abyss of political crisis, which tested the stability and resilience of the Assembly.
Despite interventions by All Progressives Congress(APC)leaders,including former governors Chief Bisi AKande and Chief Olusegun Osoba, the leadership crisis persisted.
The Governance Advisory Council(GAC),the highest decision-making organ of the party, was also not able to resolve the crisis, with some members of the council suggesting that only President Bola Tinubu could end the problem.
The crisis assumed a dramatic dimension when Obasa, accompanied by security officials, visited the Assembly complex on Feb. 17, declaring that he remained the Speaker of the House and that he was illegally removed.
Obasa, during the visit,entered the Speaker’s Office and stayed briefly,drawing the anger of lawmakers, who described the visit as an embarrassment.
Meranda’s short-lived time was characterised by turmoil, with the House recording a number of incidents,one of which was the clash between the DSS officials and legislative workers at the Assembly Complex.
The clash resulted in the arrest of some legislative workers,whom the DSS accused of obstructing its duties at the Assembly Complex.
Obasa was reinstated as Speaker of the now deeply polarised House on March 3, after the intervention of President Tinubu and subsequent resignation of Meranda as Speaker.
In spite of the crisis, which shook the Assembly to its foundation, 2025 was a remarkable year for the House as it recorded a number of legislative milestones.
The House started the last legislative year on an active note with the speedy passage of the 3.37 trillion naira 2025 Appropriation Bill, giving the executive fiscal direction .
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu signed the the bill tagged” Budget of Sustainability” into law on Jan.9, 2025.
The budget focused on infrastructure sustainability, economic diversification, and social inclusion, with 62% allocated to capital expenditure and 38% to recurrent spending.
Also, key bills passed by the House in 2025 include the Local Government Administration Bill,which consolidated all existing laws on local government administration and aligned state legislation wth national reforms.
The governor signed the bill into law on May 7,with its commencement slated for August 2025.
The Assembly also approved the E-GIS Bill, which seeks to establish the Lagos Geographic Information Service to improve land management,transparency and efficiency.
2025 also saw the House pass a bill to establish the Lagos State University of Medicine and Health Science to address critical personnel gaps in the health sector.
Another milestone recorded in 2025 legislative year is the passage of the Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill, which seeks to redefine tenant-landlord relationship, giving protection to both.
The bill caps upfront rent at three months (monthly) or one year(yearly),reducing agency fees to five per cent, preventing illegal evictions.
It also seeks to mandate written notice for rent increases, while empowering tenants to challenge arbitrary rent increases in court.
In the area of dispute resolution, the bill seeks to provide for faster court processes with hearings within 14 days and mediation limited to 30 days.
In the area of oversight and accountability, the House, through its committees, paid regular oversight visits to ministries ,departments and agencies to ensure efficient service delivery.
In the last legislative year, lawmakers also reviewed executive appointments and effectively monitored implementation of policies across ministries and agencies.
Stakeholders have praised the performance of the House in 2025, citing impactful bills, robust debates by lawmakers and effective monitoring of policy implementation.
A rights activist, Mr Musa Rafsanjani,said the Assembly lived up expectations in spite of its challenges in 2025
Rafsanjani, Executive Director,Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre(CISLAC), said legislative effectiveness in the last legislative year had significantly impacted the state and promoted good governance.
The activist also lauded the Assembly for sustaining robust debates before passing bills that hold great promises for lives of millions in the state.
“The Lagos Assembly has done well passing bills with direct impact on residents.Some of the impactful bills include the bill establishing cancer treatment centre, the bill establishing the Police Trust Fund.
“Another bill that will surely have a positive impact when it becomes law is the bill establishing the Lagos State Correctional Centre.
“This will make provisions for administering custodial and non-custodial measures in Lagos State for people that breach the law,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN)
Also speaking, Mr Jude Idimogu, a former member of the Assembly, lauded the House for its performance in key areas, such as fiscal accountability and community development initiatives in 2025.
“We saw the Assembly in 2025 bridging the gap between public expectations and actual legislative performance,using oversight functions to ensure value for public money,” he said.
The former lawmaker charged the Assembly to build on the achievements of 2025 to pass more impactful bills in 2026.
A resident of Alimosho, Mr Tomi Ipaye, commended the performance of the Assembly in 2025, saying some of the bills passed in the legislative year would reshape governance when assented to.
He said the passage of the Tenancy Bill,if signed into law, would curb exploitative practices by landlords.
“The Assembly did so well last year.A lot of important bills were passed,one of which was the Tenancy Bill.
“This bill,when it becomes law, will address exploitative practices against tenants,while protecting both parties,”he told NAN.
A community leader in Ifako-Ijaye, Monsuru Adigun, lauded the Assembly and lawmakers in the area of empowerment initiatives for constituents.
“2025 was a good year for the people of the two constituencies in Ifako-Ijaiye.Our lawmakers organised many empowerment programmes which benefitted many people.
“A lot of people were trained on skills and given empowerment kits.Many were supported with cash while artisans and businesses were supported.
“We thank our lawmakers for impacting many lives with these initiatives last year,and we hope they will perform even better this year,” he told NAN.
He also lauded lawmakers for their many interventions in schools, markets ,roads and other areas needing attention in the last legislative year.
Stephen Ogundipe, Chairman, House Committee Chairman on Information,said the Assembly acquitted itself remarkably well in 2025, promising more impactful legislation in 2026.
“Despite the crisis of last year, we were able to overcome that problem and deliver results.
“We achieved a lot in 2025 and a lot will be done this year to further promote governance,”he told NAN(NAN)
