Mr. Gbajabiamila said he advised Mr. Elliot to publicly distance himself from Mr. Obasa’s removal, but the lawmaker failed to do so.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has revealed that his political support for Desmond Elliot nearly cost him his position during the leadership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Speaking in a video circulated on Thursday, Mr. Gbajabiamila recounted how tensions escalated after allegations emerged linking Mr. Elliot to the controversial removal of Mudashiru Obasa as Speaker of the Assembly. According to him, the atmosphere at the gathering was tense as party supporters listened closely to his account of the events that almost jeopardized his role as Chief of Staff.
He said President Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence at the height of the crisis and questioned him over intelligence reports allegedly tying Mr. Elliot to the impeachment plot.
“Tinubu told me, ‘I hear this Desmond is your boy,’” Mr. Gbajabiamila recalled, adding that he acknowledged his relationship with the lawmaker but denied that Mr. Elliot was involved in the move against Mr. Obasa.
The Chief of Staff said the President insisted intelligence reports indicated otherwise and instructed him to warn the Surulere lawmaker to withdraw from the matter if he was truly involved.
Mr. Gbajabiamila explained that he immediately contacted Mr. Elliot and passed on the President’s warning, advising him to distance himself from those behind the crisis if he had any connection to them.
He further disclosed that days later, the Director-General of the Department of State Services contacted him, claiming his name was being linked to support for Mr. Elliot in the unfolding Assembly dispute.
According to him, he denied any involvement and again reached out to Mr. Elliot, urging him to publicly deny the allegations. However, he noted that the lawmaker had yet to issue any statement distancing himself from the controversy.
Mr. Elliot currently represents Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos Assembly — the same constituency previously represented by Mr. Gbajabiamila before his appointment as Chief of Staff.
The actor-turned-politician is reportedly facing strong opposition ahead of his reelection bid, amid speculation that he no longer enjoys the backing of either Mr. Gbajabiamila or President Tinubu.
The controversy comes amid rising political tension within the Surulere chapter of the All Progressives Congress, where some party stakeholders have accused allies of Mr. Gbajabiamila of attempting to influence the succession race for the constituency seat.
Reports suggesting that a female aspirant linked to the Chief of Staff’s political camp was being positioned ahead of the party primaries have fueled accusations of political imposition and widened divisions within the local APC structure.
Some party members have also argued that Mr. Elliot’s continued stay in office has largely depended on Mr. Gbajabiamila’s political influence and have urged the Chief of Staff not to support the lawmaker’s bid for a fourth term.
