Femi Gbajabiamila says he almost lost his position as chief of staff to Bola Tinubu during the Lagos assembly speakership crisis last year.
In January 2025, Mudashiru Obasa was impeached as speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly after a majority of lawmakers accused him of gross misconduct and abuse of office.
Obasa was removed while abroad, after which the then-deputy speaker, Mojisola Meranda, emerged as the first female speaker of the house.
On returning to Nigeria, Obasa rejected the impeachment and challenged it in court.
After 49 days in office, Meranda resigned as speaker, while Obasa was reinstated following reported intervention by Tinubu.
A court later nullified the proceedings and resolutions of the Lagos assembly that led to Obasa’s removal.
Speaking on Thursday at an All Progressives Congress stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, Gbajabiamila said the alleged involvement of Desmond Elliot in the impeachment plot nearly led to his removal as chief of staff.
“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.
Gbajabiamila, who also hails from Surulere constituency 1, said Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence during the Obasa impeachment crisis and mentioned Elliot among those allegedly behind the turmoil in the Lagos assembly. He said he initially defended the lawmaker before later speaking with him directly.
According to Gbajabiamila, after meeting Tinubu, he called Elliot and warned him to distance himself from the impeachment move if he was involved.
The former speaker of the House of Representatives said that three days later, the director-general of the Department of State Services contacted him over allegations that he was backing Elliot in the impeachment plot.
“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 urged Elliot to publicly dissociate himself from the impeachment effort, but the lawmaker allegedly refused.
“If it were not that I had the kind of relationship I had with the president, I wouldn’t be here today,” Gbajabiamila said.
The president’s chief of staff also accused Elliot of fueling religious tensions in Surulere constituency and creating divisions between Muslims and Christians.
Last week, stakeholders in the Surulere chapter of the APC alleged that Gbajabiamila was attempting to impose a preferred female aspirant for the Lagos State House of Assembly seat.