Why i resigned as Lagos Speaker- Meranda

The former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt (Hon) Mojisola Meranda has said that she resigned her position to save the legislative institution in the State.

Meranda who was later re-elected as the Deputy Speaker during the plenary session on Monday, said she took into careful consideration all the primary and intervening circumstances that culminated in her election as Speaker on the 13th of January, 2025, and the recent political turmoil which threatened the cohesion of the House. 

Read The Full Resignation Speech Below; 

Once again, history beckons on me to make personal sacrifice towards resolving the seemingly intractable leadership crisis rocking this Assembly of Patriots. I come from the illustrious Lawal-Akapo Family of Lagos. My family has played and shall continue to play defining roles in entrenching democracy, good governance and the development of our people. I will never depart from the well-established path of honour, dignity, integrity and service as personified by my late father Chief Taoreed Akanni Lawal-Akapo (Adejiyan II) – The past Ojora of Lagos.

Please permit me dear colleagues, to restate the position I previously expressed in a leaked publication, wherein I stated as follows:

It is with every sense of responsibility that I hereby give you notice of my decision to resign as the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, with effect from today the 3rd day of March, 2025.

I did not arrive at this decision lightly; indeed, I took into careful consideration all the primary and intervening circumstances that culminated in my election as Speaker on the 13th of January, 2025, on the one hand and the recent political turmoil which is threatening the cohesion of this Honourable House on the other hand.

We are the representatives of the good people of Lagos State, with the mandate to protect our democracy and ensure good governance. I am a good student of political history and in this regard, I know that this is the point at which as your leader, I have to make this selfless sacrifice to resign in order to protect this Institution.

With your unflinching support, I made history as the first woman to become the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly and I value and cherish the solidarity freely given to me.

My esteemed Honourable Members (I do not leave out the management and staff of this Assembly), I am sincerely grateful to each of you for your support and collaboration during my short but very interesting tenure.

I leave this position to re-join you on the floor of this hallowed chambers as Hon. Member representing Apapa 1 Constituency.

I shall continue to serve my good people of Apapa 1 Constituency in particular, and our teaming Lagos in general.

Thank you for finding me worthy to lead this distinguished and Honourable Assembly.

I am not a quitter; however, I took the above decision in order to save this legislative institution from further unnecessary conflict and embarrassment. According and in deference to the dictate of our esteemed political leaders, I have agreed to yet again make a personal sacrifice by stepping down as the Speaker of the House.

Dear Distinguished Honourable Members of the 10th Assembly, occasionally, we are confronted with seemingly overwhelming challenges in conflict management, but as responsible leaders, we will not bring down The Legislative House we collectively built, in pursuit of justice and fairness.

For those who have been unfairly vilified for standing on the side of fair-play, kindly take note that there will always be opportunities to right any wrong.

I am enthralled by the deluge of personal messages, phone calls, public show of support and groundswell of solidarity from a broad spectrum of our society. Indeed, our nation is blessed with great men and women of honour. It is my fervent hope that the leadership of our great Party will continue to provide guidance and support for the aspirations of our people.

I sincerely thank you all for your understanding and support.

Dated this 3rd day of March, 2025.

Rt. Hon. Princess Mojisola Lasbat Meranda
Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly.