Desmond Elliot, who represents Surulere 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, said he thought the move to impeach Mudashiru Obasa as speaker in 2025 had the support of President Bola Tinubu.
He explained that the situation left many lawmakers unsure of what was really happening.
In January 2025, Obasa was impeached as speaker after most members of the assembly accused him of misconduct and abuse of office.
Following his removal, the then deputy speaker, Mojisola Meranda, became the first female speaker of the assembly.
However, after spending 49 days in office, Meranda stepped down, and Obasa returned to the position, following Tinubu’s reported intervention.
Speaking on a Channels Television programme, Elliot said he was surprised by comments made by the chief of staff to the presiden, Femi Gbajabiamila, who recently claimed the issue almost affected his role in government because of Elliot’s involvement.
Gbajabiamila had also said he advised Elliot to publicly distance himself from the impeachment plan, but that he did not follow the advice.
Reacting to the comments, Elliot said he had spoken with Gbajabiamila at the time and was never told to make any public statement.
“I spoke with him (Gbajabiamila) during that period. He is my leader, he would always be my leader,” Elliot said.
“He spoke to me in that period and he never at any point in time asked me to make a public opinion… We spoke at that period and whatever he told me, I took to the house.”
Desmond Elliot also revealed that he was not in Nigeria when the impeachment process began.
The lawmaker said he had travelled to South Africa with his wife during the assembly’s break for a family event.
“I wasn’t in the country. My wife and I travelled during the period of January 2025. We were on recess and it was an opportunity for us to travel,” he said.
He said by the time he returned, most lawmakers had already signed the document to remove Obasa.
The lawmaker said he added his signature too, believing the decision had the president’s approval.
“I was also as confused as anybody was and then I saw that almost everyone had signed. And pretty much I thought it was from the president and I appended my own signature,” he said.
He later explained that Tinubu called the lawmakers and made it clear that he was not behind the impeachment.
According to him, the president then asked them to restore Obasa as speaker, which they eventually did.
Elliot said he had also told Gbajabiamila that he could not abandon his colleagues without carrying others along, insisting it would have been wrong to act alone.
He said the matter had already been settled after Tinubu declared it closed, stressing that he found it surprising that it was being discussed again at this time.
“We spoke at that period and whatever he told me, I took to the house, because I told him it would be cowardly of me to leave 36 people and move to another side without taking a chunk of people, so I told the chunk of people what I heard,” he said.
“Because it is a matter that has been dead and buried, Mr. President said it is over, so for my leader to bring the issue up at this political time is quite surprising to me.”
Desmond Elliot, 52, is currently seeking a fourth term in the assembly.
Meanwhile, Gbajabiamila has thrown his support behind his rival, Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, who previously served as a special adviser on housing to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
KanyiDaily recalls that Desmond Elliot recently apologised to Femi Gbajabiamila over his involvement in the Impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa.
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