Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has revealed that the Lagos State House of Assembly speakership crisis involving the impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa nearly cost him his job at the Presidency due to allegations linking him to the plot through lawmaker Desmond Elliot.
Gbajabiamila made the disclosure Thursday during an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, where he recounted how the political turmoil surrounding Obasa’s removal as Speaker in January 2025 almost created a rift between him and President Tinubu.
Obasa had been impeached by a majority of lawmakers over allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office while he was out of the country. Following his removal, then-Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda emerged as the first female Speaker of the Lagos Assembly.
However, Obasa rejected the impeachment and challenged the process in court. After spending 49 days in office, Meranda stepped down, paving the way for Obasa’s reinstatement following reported intervention by Tinubu. A court later nullified the impeachment proceedings.
Speaking on the controversy, Gbajabiamila said Tinubu summoned him to Abuja during the crisis and specifically mentioned Desmond Elliot among lawmakers allegedly involved in the impeachment plot.
“I almost lost my job as chief of staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. He’s alive today; you can go and verify with him,” Gbajabiamila said.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said he initially defended Elliot before later reaching out to him directly after meeting with the president.
According to him, he cautioned the Surulere Constituency I lawmaker to distance himself from the impeachment move if he was involved.
Gbajabiamila disclosed that three days later, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) contacted him over claims that he was backing Elliot in the crisis rocking the Lagos Assembly.
“Of course, the president will not believe that Desmond will do such a thing, and I don’t know about it,” he stated.
He further said he again urged Elliot to publicly dissociate himself from the impeachment plot, but the lawmaker allegedly refused to do so.
“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 presidential aide also accused Elliot of fuelling religious tensions in Surulere Constituency by creating divisions between Muslim and Christian groups.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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