Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has revealed that he almost lost his position over the alleged involvement of Desmond Elliot in the Lagos State House of Assembly crisis surrounding the impeachment move against Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos on Thursday, Gbajabiamila recounted how President Bola Tinubu summoned him to Abuja at the peak of the political tension and questioned him over reports linking Elliot to the crisis.
According to him, the President asked if Desmond Elliot was close to him, before accusing the lawmaker of being among those fuelling the Assembly dispute.
Gbajabiamila said he immediately defended Elliot, insisting he was not part of the plot against Obasa. However, Tinubu reportedly instructed him to caution the Surulere lawmaker and ensure he stayed away from the controversy.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said he later warned Elliot against getting involved in the crisis and advised him to publicly distance himself from the impeachment saga, but the lawmaker allegedly failed to do so.
Gbajabiamila admitted that the situation nearly cost him his job as Chief of Staff, noting that only his longstanding relationship with the President helped him survive the political fallout.
He also accused Elliot of attempting to introduce religious sentiments into Surulere politics, claiming that the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, had reached out to him on the lawmaker’s behalf.
Despite the controversy, Elliot, who is seeking a fourth term in the Lagos State House of Assembly, earlier said he was willing to apologise if he had made mistakes and appealed to constituents for another opportunity to deliver more dividends of democracy.
