By Ahmed Akanbi

A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Surulere Constituency 1, Desmond Elliot has said he was shocked by comments from President Bola Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, linking him to the January 2025 impeachment of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.

Speaking in a televised interview on Tuesday, Elliot said he signed the impeachment document believing it had presidential backing, adding that he was out of the country when the move happened.

“I want to state categorically that I was not in the country. My wife and I travelled on January 13, 2025, during the Assembly recess to attend my wife’s younger sister’s wedding,” he said.

He  said he was in South Africa when news of Obasa’s removal broke.

“It came to me as a shock because I was in South Africa at the time. It took me about two days to return, and I was as confused as everyone else,” he said.

By the time he returned, he said most lawmakers had already endorsed the impeachment.

“Almost everybody had signed, and we genuinely believed it had the approval of the Presidency. That was why I appended my signature,” he explained.

Elliot said President Bola Tinubu later clarified that he did not authorize the impeachment and directed that Obasa be reinstated, which the lawmakers complied with.

Reacting to Gbajabiamila’s claim that intelligence reports tied him to the plot and nearly cost him his job, Elliot said the remark was painful.

“For my leader to say I almost caused him to lose his job came to me as a rude shock, especially considering how long we have worked together and how supportive he has been,” he said.

The Speaker was impeached on January 13, 2025, while reportedly on vacation in the United States, over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, financial mismanagement, and poor leadership while the Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda was elected Speaker, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

rObasa rejected the impeachment, saying due process was not followed. The dispute led to a prolonged leadership crisis involving court cases and All Progressives Congress, APC interventions.

It ended after Meranda stepped down, allowing Obasa’s reinstatement as Speaker.