Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has revealed how he nearly lost his position during the leadership crisis in the Lagos State House of Assembly, saying allegations linked him to the impeachment plot against Speaker Mudashiru Obasa through actor-turned-lawmaker, Desmond Elliott.
Gbajabiamila also announced the withdrawal of his political support for Elliott, who is seeking a fourth term in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Speaking on the controversy surrounding the impeachment saga, Gbajabiamila said President Bola Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence and questioned him over Elliott’s alleged involvement in the crisis rocking the Assembly.
According to him, the President specifically asked whether Elliott was “his boy,” to which he responded in the affirmative.
Gbajabiamila said Tinubu subsequently informed him that intelligence reports indicated Elliott was among lawmakers allegedly fuelling the crisis in the Assembly.
“I told the President that Desmond was not part of them, but the President insisted that from the intelligence he received, Desmond was involved,” he said.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said he immediately contacted Elliott and advised him to distance himself from the group if he was involved in the alleged impeachment plot.
He added that the matter escalated three days later when the Director-General of the Department of State Services allegedly informed him that his own name was being linked to the crisis.
“Three days later, the DSS DG called me and said there was a problem. He said my name was being mentioned as the one behind the impeachment saga and that I was supporting Desmond,” Gbajabiamila said.
He explained that he again reached out to Elliott and urged him to publicly deny involvement in the controversy, but claimed the lawmaker failed to do so.
“I asked him to make a public statement denying involvement in the impeachment saga, but till today, he has not done it,” he added.
The Lagos Assembly crisis had sparked tensions within the state’s political structure following moves to remove Obasa as Speaker, with allegations and counter-allegations among lawmakers and political stakeholders.