By Akinwale Kasali
A couple of weeks ago, Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, The Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, through his lawyer, Lawal Pedro, had written a pre-litigation letter to Omoyele Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, an Online Medium, over an alleged defamatory report, that he claimed maligned the image and integrity of Obasa.
The publication was entitled, ‘Exposed: Speaker of Lagos Assembly Obasa, Awards Contracts To Self Through A Company Registered in His Son’s Name’.
Fuming, the Speaker, slammed a N1 Billion Libel Suit on the Former Presidential Candidate of African Action Congress, AAC and his Online Medium.
Non pulsed, the Online Medium, on Tuesday, did another story alleging wasteful spending and siphoning of funds into the accounts of proxies by the Lagos State Speaker, thus alleging corrupt practices on the part of the Speaker.
This, again, did not go down well on the part of the Speaker who had earlier criticised the Sahara Reporters “for spreading fake and false information.
Following this development, the National Coordinator and Projects Director, South West Progressive Youth And People’s Movement, Taiwo Ajayi, had in a press release made available to the media, reacted to allegations made by Sahara Reporters accusing the Speaker of land grabbing in Ogun state and running the House Assembly with impunity.
According to Ajayi, “Ordinarily there wouldn’t be any need giving any relevance to such fallacious, malicious and mendacious allegations made by perceived political enemies or those opposed to their infantile political ideologies.
“However for the sake of the open minded public, who might be rail-roaded into believing his unfounded statements, we find it expedient to address the issue as nothing but conjectures found only in the figment of Sowore’s imagination.
Recall that Sahara Reporters had accused Speaker Mudasiru Obasa, of forcefully grabbing acted of land in a ‘Gestapo manner’, belonging to one Messrs Rexman Global Ventures Limited, Ogun state, alleging also that backed by Tinubu’s support, Obasa runs the state assembly as he wished, accounting to nobody.
Ajayi, defending the Speaker said, “Even though the Speaker himself has reacted to these infantile allusions, yet it behooves on our organisation to also react, owing to our immense and robust knowledge of the person of the Speaker, who is a perfect gentleman, compassionate, a team player, astute and one with an impeccable record of integrity.
“This is a man whose works are speaking for him, he is highly loved and revered by his constituents, borne out of the innumerable and massive delivery of the dividend of democracy to them.
He asserted, “Obasa has brought glory and honour to Lagos state by being the first to hold the exalted position of the Speaker of Speakers of the 36 other Houses of Assembly, a no mean feat. He has continued to serve the state passionately treating all that comes across him humanely and elected members of the house as equals.
Concerning Sowore, Ajayi further said, “He is yet to recover from the trouncing he and the other opposition candidates received at the polls and is now trying to use his online media to gain cheap attention which nobody is ready to give him.
Speaking about his group, Ajayi said, ” Our group has the onerous task of promoting the candidature of a qualified Yoruba man for the presidency come 2023. It is a project we are assiduously working on and we believe it shall be achieved by the grace of God.” Ajayi concluded.
