Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, born on August 16, 1980, is a Nigerian public administrator, politician, and the first female Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
She assumed the role of Speaker on January 13, 2025, following the impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa. She is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), representing Apapa I constituency.
From a Royal and Political Family
Mojisola Meranda was born on August 16, 1980, to Chief T. A. Lawal-Akapo and Olori M. A. Lawal-Akapo. Her father served as the Ojora of Lagos from 1977 to 1993.
Her elder brother, Oba Gbolahan Lawal, was the former ADC to Bola Tinubu during his tenure as governor, SSA to former Lagos Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, and later as a Commissioner under Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, and as Commission for Agriculture under Babajide Sanwo-Olu, before becoming the 15th Oniru of Iruland, Lagos, in 2020.
It is, therefore, safe to say that Mojisola Meranda, the first female Speaker of the Lagos House of Assembly, is a Lagos Princess from the Ojora, Aromire, Shokun, and Abisogun branches of the Oniru Royal families of Lagos State.
Education
Mojisola, a complete “Lagos Girl,” completed her primary, secondary, and tertiary education in Lagos. She attended Randle Primary School (1992), Lagos Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ansar-Ud-Deen Secondary School (1998), and Lagos State University, where she earned a degree in Public Administration in 2013.
She then attended the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where she earned a Master’s in Public and International Affairs in 2020.
Her Career
Her political career began as a senior special assistant to the chairman of Apapa Local Government Area of Lagos and later as a supervisory councillor for health. She also worked with private companies and was active in state and national political processes.
She was an active member of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which later metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress (APC) towards the 2015 general elections.
She contested under the APC during the 2015 elections, winning to represent Apapa I constituency. She was re-elected in the 2019 election and was elected as the Chief Whip of the Ninth Assembly (2019).
In the 2023 election, she contested and won for a third term, during which she served as Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly until she emerged as a successor to Mudashiru Obasa.
Emergence as Lagos Assembly Speaker
On January 13, 2025, Mojisola Meranda was unanimously elected as the first female Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, following a series of corruption allegations and abuses levelled against Mudashiru Obasa (2015–2025). Political analysts believe that Obasa’s impeachment was due to his governorship ambition.