How Desmond Elliot’s role in Obasa’s impeachment saga nearly cost me my job – Gbajabiamila

Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that the political crisis surrounding  the impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa, the Lagos State House of Assembly speaker, almost cost him his position in the Presidency.

Gbajabiamila made the disclosure on Thursday while addressing members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Surulere Constituency I on Thursday, where he recounted how allegations linking him to the impeachment plot created tension around his office.

According to him, the controversy escalated after claims emerged that he was backing Desmond Elliot, lawmaker representing Surulere Constituency I in the Assembly, and others allegedly involved in moves against Obasa.

“I almost lost my job as chief of staff last year because of Desmond Elliot,” Gbajabiamila said.

Gbajabiamila, who formerly represented the constituency at the House of Representatives, said Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence during the controversy surrounding Obasa’s impeachment and mentioned Elliot among those allegedly involved in the crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly. He said he initially defended the lawmaker before later reaching out to him directly.

According to Gbajabiamila, he subsequently called Elliot and warned him to distance himself from the impeachment plot if he had any involvement in it.

He explained that the issue became serious when the Director General of DSS informed him that his name was repeatedly being mentioned in connection with the impeachment saga.

Read also: Benue youths lead as 184,064 captured in INEC voter registration

Gbajabiamila said he immediately contacted Elliot and instructed him to publicly deny any suggestion that he was acting on his behalf.

“I called him again. ‘Desmond, go and make a public statement that you are not part of this. Go and make a public statement,’” he said.

“If it were not that I had the kind of relationship I had with the president, I wouldn’t be here today,” Gbajabiamila added.

The former speaker of the House of Representatives said he was particularly disturbed by Elliot’s attempts to allegedly introduce religious divisions in the constituency by using the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to write letters to him and the party leadership over what he described as efforts at “forcing division between the Muslims and the Christians.”

“I’ve been in the political process for over 25 years. I’ve never heard where people bring religious division into this matter,” he said.

Background

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly had unanimously removed Obasa as Speaker in January 2025 while he was out of the country, citing allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office.

Following his removal, his deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was sworn in as Speaker, becoming the first woman to occupy the position in Lagos State.

However, her tenure lasted only 49 days. Upon returning to Nigeria, Mudashiru Obasa challenged his impeachment in court and was eventually reinstated after the intervention of Tinubu and party leaders. A court later nullified his removal from office.

Desmond Elliot, a popular Nollywood actor-turned-politician, was first elected into the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2015 to represent Surulere Constituency I. He secured re-election in 2019 and 2023, but his bid for a fourth term is reportedly facing resistance from some members of the APC within the constituency.