‘Tinubu saved my political career’ – Lagos Speaker

The Speaker of Lagos House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, went down  memory lane on Monday, May 22, 2017, to tell the whole world how Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu facilitated in a dramatic way his political cum legislative trajectory.
The occasion was the special parliamentary session to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Lagos State and second anniversary of the 8th session of Lagos State House of Assembly which took place in the Assembly chambers.
The Speaker, as the chief host and the presiding officer of the special parliamentary session, told the audience how in 2003 when he first contested for his Agege constituency 1 seat Tinubu saved him from being robbed of his victory.
He said during the party primaries to elect candidates for the House of Assembly that year, he had won the primary by virtue of the fact that three out of the six delegates from his constituency had queued behind him, while the two other aspirants had two and one delegates respectively.
According to him, all of a sudden, the one delegate left his aspirant to join the aspirant with two delegates already making it three delegates thus tying the result.
He said, Tinubu who was at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja  venue of the primary intervened by openly scolding the delegate that left his aspirant to join another aspirant.
He said it in Tinubu’s voice, ” Se to ba je ibo lodi ni, wa fo apoti mole, wa yo ibo e” ( If you had voted with ballot paper, you will break the ballot box and remove your vote)?
That was how the delegate returned to his former aspirant and he (Obasa) was eventually declared the winner of that primary.
Again in 2011, his political enemies who were hell bent on making sure he did not return to the Assembly for the third time, went to lobby Tinubu’s first daughter, Mrs Folashade Tinubu – Ojo, the present Iyaloja General of Lagos, who resides in Ikeja to come and contest his constituency seat in Agege.
He said, he and Hon Bayo Osinowo (aka Pepper) went to see Tinubu on this and Tinubu assured them not to worry. Tinubu told them that when he drop his daughter
he would want to see who will challenge him.
True to his word, Tinubu dropped his daughter and he was allowed to contest for the third time and he won.
He said his becoming the speaker of Lagos House of Assembly was not without Tinubu’s intervention.
He used the occasion to thank Tinubu for his positive contributions to his political career and that of Lagos in general.
It was not the Speaker alone who paid glowing tributes to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his contribution to their political career. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, the Majority Leader of House of Representatives and Senator Olamilekan Adeola also used the occasion of their short speech to the gathering to pay glowing tributes to Tinubu who also was one of the key speakers at the august event .