Jimoh named Lagos police commissioner amid turmoil in state assembly

Our reporter/ The Police Service Commission has approved the appointment of Olohundare Moshood Jimoh as the new Commissioner of Police for the nation’s economic capital.

Jimoh’s appointment was announced on Monday, even as the state house of assembly is engulfed in a leadership crisis following the recent impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa as speaker.

A statement by the Head of Press and Public Relations of the Commission, Ikechukwu Ani, says Jimoh, before his appointment, was Commissioner of Police, Ports Authority, Eastern Ports.

Jimoh, who hails from Kwara State, was a former Force Public Relations Officer and later Deputy Commissioner of Airport Police; Deputy Commissioner, Finance and Administration, and Deputy Commissioner for General Investigation.

Though the police commission did not give a reason for the deployment of a new police boss in Lagos, observers have linked the development to the protracted leadership tussle in the state legislature.

Earlier on Monday, the leadership tussle in the Lagos State House of Assembly took a new twist with heavy security presence at the premises during a plenary session.

Security vans and personnel were spotted in and outside the premises of the Lagos Assembly complex in the Alausa Area of the commercial city.

There was a mild drama when some of the security agents tried to gain access to the Assembly chambers. These delayed the plenary for some hours.

But an official of the Lagos Assembly later confirmed that the speaker Mojisola Meranda and 32 members of the lawmaking body are present for Monday’s plenary.

While issues to be discussed at the plenary are unclear, some members of the Lagos Assembly were spotted discussing in clusters inside the premises.

Although a source told reporters that the leadership of the House is intact, there were speculations that the speaker has been asked to resign or may be impeached.

Some workers at the Assembly were spotted surrounding Meranda. They insisted that they wanted her to stay as the speaker of the House.

Last month, members of the Assembly removed the House’s long-term speaker Mudashiru Obasa over allegations of fraud and other sundry charges.

They thereafter elected Meranda as Obasa’s replacement in a historic move that saw the member representing Apapa Constituency I become the first speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.