Primaries: Lagos speaker warns against use of name to fuel protests

The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has warned against the use of his name to fuel protests or rallies in the aftermath of the House of Assembly primaries.

Obasa gave the warning in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos.

He said the warning became necessary due to several protests that had swept through the state since the Lagos chapter of the party released a list of candidates purported to have won its primary elections.

The speaker frowned upon attempts to link him with the wave of protests across the state.

“On Tuesday, June 9, party members from different local governments, including Badagry, Mushin, Amuwo-Odofin, Eti-Osa, Somolu, Ajeromi, and Oshodi, among others, staged a protest at the APC Secretariat on ACME Road, Ikeja.

“They accused party leaders of manipulating the outcome of the primaries and demanded transparency.

“Consequently, a slew of WhatsApp messages started circulating, claiming that Speaker Obasa devoted N2 billion to organise the protests,” he said.

Obasa said, “It is foolhardy, malicious, misleading, and baseless for anybody to assume or imply that I will import or mobilise protesters from different local governments to the secretariat.

“I am not a candidate in the disputed election, so why and how will I devote such an amount of money to organising protests.

“I am a peace-loving party man, and I abhor the use of my name and office for any form of illegality or to sow division within the party,” he said.

Obasa reaffirmed, “My steadfast commitment remains the unity, peace, and progress of our great party and the people of Lagos State.” he said.