How Desmond Eliot’s Role In Obasa Impeachment Nearly Cost Me Chief Of Staff Job — Gbajabiamila 

 

By Rotela Oguns

 

 

Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has recounted how the involvement of his political godson, Desmond Eliot, in the Lagos assembly speakership crisis last almost cost him his job.

 

Gbajabiamila made this disclosure while speaking on Thursday during the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders meeting in Lagos.

 

He said, “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 and Eliot are both from Surulere constituency 1 of Lagos State.

 

It’s believed that Gbajabiamila was instrumental in the emergence of Eliot as a lawmaker and many even think the former Nollywood actor’s sole claim to fame is his relationship with the former Speaker of House of Representatives, the fact that he has been basking in his political godfather’s reflected glory.

 

 

According to Gbajabiamila  Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence during the Obasa impeachment saga and named Elliot among those behind the crisis in the Lagos assembly, but that he defended the lawmaker before speaking with him.

 

The former speaker of the House of Representatives added that after the meeting with Tinubu, he called and cautioned Elliot to dissociate himself  from the impeachment move if he was complicit.

 

The former speaker of the house of representatives said three days later, the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS) called to inform him that there were allegations that he was backing Elliot in the impeachment scheme.

 

“Of course, the president will not believe that Desmond will do such a thing, and I don’t know about it,” Gbajabiamila said.

 

Gbajabiamila said he again asked Elliot to publicly distance himself from the impeachment move, but the lawmaker declined.

 

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

 

From the speech of the former speaker of the House of Representatives, it appears his relationship with Eliot has become strained as he insinuated that his political godson is a bit of a handful.

 

This is as  president’s chief of staff accused Elliot of stoking religious tension in the Surulere constituency and causing division between the Muslims and the Christians.

 

The apparent rift between Gbajabiamila and Eliot is further fuelled by the insinuation that he is attempting to impose another candidate other than Eliot to represent the Surulere constituency 1.

 

Last week  stakeholders in the Surulere chapter of the APC alleged that Gbajamiamila was attempting to impose a preferred female aspirant for the Lagos state house of assembly seat.

 

Recall that in January 2025, Mudashiru Obasa was impeached as the speaker of the Lagos state house of assembly after a majority of legislators accused him of gross misconduct and abuse of office.

 

 

Obasa was ousted in absentia, the speaker was in abroad when the legislators took the crucial decision.

 

 

In an attempt to seal and cement their decision, the legislators elected  the then-deputy speaker, Mojisola Meranda, as the  first female speaker of the house.

 

Meanwhile, upon returning to the country, Obasa kicked against his removal from office and initiated a litigation to reclaim his position.

 

After 49 days in office, Meranda stepped down as speaker, and Obasa was reinstated following Tinubu’s reported intervention.

 

 

The court would later nullify the proceedings and resolution of the Lagos assembly, which led to Obasa’s ouster.