Former governorship candidate of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Funso Doherty, has said the former Speaker of Lagos House of Assembly, Mojisola Meranda, should not have resigned.
Naijaonpoint reported that the political crisis in the Lagos House was resolved by the first female Speaker, Meranda, resigning; while former Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, was reinstated as the House Speaker.
Speaking on the resignation on Thursday, on News Central, Doherty said the now Deputy Speaker, Mrs. Meranda, underestimated the support she had from Lagosians.
Doherty stated that Lagosians would have stood with her if she did not succumb to the pressure of resignation.
“Honorable Miranda was basically in a crucible, right? And this is something that leaders face from time to time. And the judgments or the choices that a leader makes when you are in the crucible, when you are in a storm, is a defining, that’s what defines you.
“So we understand that she was under tremendous pressure. We know that. But personally, I believe she should have stood firm. I think she may have underestimated the support and the way Lagosians stood with her outside of that immediate party structure. We, as Lagosians, certainly stood by her. And I think that she would not have lacked support had she insisted that she would not back down. And if the reps who appointed her want to remove her, let them remove her,” he said.
The former Lagos State governorship candidate also faulted the political arrangements which was relied upon to perfect Meranda’s resignation.
He argued that the arrangement failed to recognize women who are major voters.
“I think that this idea, that this argument that is made about representation and Lagos West, I think it’s disingenuous. This is just looking for something to justify an action.
“Because you are saying that a group is disenfranchised, which represents a third by senatorial district, right? But there’s no woman in this structure that you’re talking about. So you are disenfranchising one group by enfranchising another group. And women are maybe about half of the population, if not more,” he added.