Lagos lawmaker Desmond Elliot has broken his silence over the controversial impeachment of former Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, revealing that many lawmakers believed the move had the backing of the Presidency before supporting it.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Elliot said members of the assembly acted under the impression that the January 2025 move against Obasa had received approval from powerful figures at the national level.
The Surulere Constituency I representative made the clarification while responding to recent remarks by Femi Gbajabiamila, who alleged that Elliot’s involvement in the impeachment crisis nearly jeopardized his own position within the Presidency.
According to Elliot, he was outside Nigeria when the impeachment plot gained momentum, explaining that he had travelled to South Africa with his wife during the Assembly recess for a family wedding.
“It came to me as a shock because I was in South Africa then,” Elliot said during the interview. “When I returned, I saw that almost everybody had signed. In all fairness, we thought it was from the Presidency, and of course I appended my own signature.”
The political crisis erupted in January 2025 when Obasa was removed as Speaker while reportedly outside the country. His deputy, Mojisola Meranda, briefly emerged as the first female Speaker of the Lagos Assembly before stepping down weeks later following intervention from President Bola Tinubu.
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A court later nullified the impeachment process, further intensifying tensions within the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress.
The controversy resurfaced last week after Gbajabiamila publicly disclosed that he was confronted by President Tinubu and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) over intelligence reports allegedly linking him to the anti-Obasa plot through Elliot.
Gbajabiamila claimed he instructed Elliot to publicly distance himself from the impeachment faction, but the lawmaker allegedly failed to do so. However, Elliot denied receiving any directive to issue a public statement.
“He is my leader and will always remain my leader,” Elliot said of Gbajabiamila. “We spoke during that period, but he never asked me at any point to make a public statement. Whatever he told me, I took back to the House.”
The actor-turned-politician also reaffirmed his loyalty to the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, describing Gbajabiamila as his “political daddy.”
The renewed public exchange comes amid rising political tensions in Surulere ahead of the APC primary elections, where Elliot is seeking a fourth consecutive term in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
His re-election bid has recently faced internal setbacks following the reported withdrawal of support by his longtime campaign director-general, who has now backed a rival aspirant believed to have strong establishment support within the local party structure.
Elliot has also alleged that his security details were compromised ahead of the party primaries, adding another layer of tension to an already heated political atmosphere within Lagos APC circles.
Political observers say the fallout from the Obasa impeachment saga continues to expose deep divisions within the Lagos political establishment, with the latest comments by Elliot and Gbajabiamila highlighting the lingering struggle over loyalty, influence, and control within the state’s ruling party.
