Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, has emerged as the unopposed candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the Agege Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Obasa secured the party’s ticket during the APC primary election held on Saturday at Ward E, Oyewole Primary School in Agege, where party members turned out in large numbers to endorse his candidature.
Speaking after the exercise, Mr Obasa thanked party leaders and supporters for backing his ambition to represent the constituency at the National Assembly.
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“This is another opportunity given to me by my constituents to represent them at the Federal House of Reps, and I am assuring them of more effective representation at the upper legislative chamber,” he said.
In a statement shared on Facebook on Sunday, Mr Obasa also thanked party leaders, supporters and residents of Agege for what he described as the overwhelming support shown during the primary election.
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“I am sincerely grateful to our party leaders, stakeholders, supporters and the good people of Agege for the overwhelming support and confidence shown in yesterday’s APC House of Representatives primary election,” he stated.
“Your massive support and the outcome of the primary are clear demonstrations of your belief in our shared vision for better representation, sustained development and stronger grassroots leadership for Agege.”
Mr Obasa said he accepted the mandate with humility and pledged to continue serving the constituency diligently if elected into the National Assembly.
“At the National Assembly, I will continue to champion the interests of Agege by pushing for more federal presence, youth empowerment opportunities, improved infrastructure, quality education, better healthcare delivery and economic initiatives that will directly impact our people,” he stressed.
He also promised to remain accessible to constituents and ensure that the interests of residents were adequately represented in Abuja.
“Yesterday’s victory belongs to every loyal party member, every supporter and every resident who believes in continuity, progress and purposeful representation,” he added.
The development marks a major political move for Mr Obasa, who has served as speaker of the Lagos Assembly since 2015 and remains one of the most influential political figures in Lagos politics.
A former chairman of Agege Local Government, Ganiyu Egunjobi, said the peaceful conduct of the primary reflected the widespread support Mr Obasa enjoys within the constituency.
“There’s no secret behind this primary; people in Agege really showed that they are behind our leader, our speaker Obasa,” he said.
Mr Egunjobi added that all 11 wards in the constituency aligned behind the speaker’s candidacy.
“It is unopposed. Nobody is contesting with him,” he said, describing the outcome as a collective decision by party members across Agege Federal Constituency.
According to him, the endorsement was a reward for Mr Obasa’s performance in public office.
“It’s a testament to his good work and the reward of good work is more work,” he added.
Mr Egunjobi also urged party members and residents to maintain peace throughout the electoral process.
Another APC stalwart and Lagos Assembly aspirant for Agege Constituency II, Oladapo Yusuf, described the turnout at the primary as impressive, saying residents came out massively to support the speaker.
“This is because the candidate is somebody that is well-known to them, somebody who has been in the system for so many times, he has touched lives,” he said.
Mr Yusuf said Mr Obasa had helped transform the image of Agege and consistently preached peace and unity among residents.
“The election was absolutely peaceful and, like I said, he’s the only candidate; there was no opposition,” he added.
Asides Obasa, Fuad Laguda and Benjamin Olabinjo emerged unopposed as candidates of the All Progressives Congress for the Surulere I and Ifako-Ijaiye federal constituencies respectively.
Obasa at a glance
Mr Obasa, 53, became a councilor in Agege Local Government under the Alliance for Democracy in 1999. He served in this role until 2002.
His run in the Lagos State House of Assembly stated in 2003 when he won the state legislature election in 2003 to represent Agege Constituency I. He went on to win re-elections in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023, solidifying his position as a prominent figure in Lagos State politics.
Mr Obasa’s long stay as a state lawmaker has spanned the administrations of four different state governors (Bola Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu) and was Speaker during the tenure of the last two.
A new adventure for Obasa?
His emergence as APC’s candidate for the Agege Federal Constituency comes more than a year after a leadership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly, during which Mr Obasa was briefly removed as speaker by some lawmakers in 2025 amid allegations bordering on highhandedness and internal disagreements within the Assembly.
The crisis triggered intense political negotiations within the ruling All Progressives Congress and among influential party leaders in Lagos, eventually leading to his reinstatement as speaker after weeks of consultations and interventions by party stakeholders.
If elected into the House of Representatives in 2027, Mr Obasa’s departure from the Assembly would effectively bring an end to his decade-long tenure as speaker, a position he has occupied since 2015.
His exit would also open up a fresh contest for the leadership of the Lagos Assembly ahead of the inauguration of a new legislative session, potentially reshaping the balance of power within the state’s political structure.
Outcomes of other APC primaries in Lagos
Several other APC aspirants also emerged candidates during the party’s House of Representatives primaries across Lagos State.
READ ALSO: Violence, irregularities characterise APC Reps primaries in Lagos
Fuad Kayode Laguda emerged unopposed for Surulere I Federal Constituency, while Benjamin Adeyemi Olabinjo secured the party’s ticket for Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency.
In Lagos Island Federal Constituency II, Sola Giwa stepped down for Kayode Moshood Akiolu, son of the Oba of Lagos, who emerged as the consensus candidate.
Similarly, Fuad Atanda Lawal clinched the APC ticket for Eti-Osa Federal Constituency.
In Alimosho Federal Constituency, Ganiyu Adele Ayuba won with 37,021 votes, while Dele Oshinowo secured victory in the APC primary for Kosofe Federal Constituency with 18,614 votes.
