Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, has revealed that his position was nearly jeopardized due to the 2025 political crisis within the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Speaking at a constituency stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos on Thursday, May 14, Gbajabiamila recounted a tense confrontation with President Bola Tinubu during the height of the speakership tussle involving Mudashiru Obasa.
The conflict centered on reports linking Surulere lawmaker and actor-turned-politician Desmond Elliot to moves aimed at destabilizing the House.
According to Gbajabiamila, the President summoned him to his study in Abuja and pointedly questioned his associate’s role. “I hear this Desmond is your boy,” Tinubu reportedly said, alleging that Elliot was among those causing problems in the Assembly.
Gbajabiamila immediately defended Elliot, insisting the lawmaker was not involved in any plot against the House leadership. However, the President remained skeptical, citing intelligence reports, and directed Gbajabiamila to “call him to order.”
The situation escalated three days later when the Director-General of the DSS contacted Gbajabiamila, informing him that his own name was being cited as the influential figure backing Elliot to push for an impeachment.
Gbajabiamila stated that he subsequently warned Elliot to distance himself from the crisis and instructed him to issue a public statement denying the allegations, which the lawmaker reportedly failed to do.
Ultimately, the Chief of Staff credited his long-standing personal relationship with President Tinubu for saving his job. “If not for the kind of relationship I have with the President today, I probably would not still be here as Chief of Staff,” he admitted.
Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Tinubu, narrates how he almost lost his job during the Lagos Speaker Obasa impeachment saga because of Hon. Desmond Elliot:
I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. Mr. President called me to his… pic.twitter.com/64A3ORyTHT
— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) May 14, 2026
The revelation sheds new light on the internal power struggles of 2025, which saw Speaker Mudashiru Obasa briefly ousted before being reinstated with the President’s intervention.
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