Diamond Elliot, a Lagos lawmaker has revealed that members of the state house of assembly believed President Bola Tinubu approved the move to impeach Speaker Mudashiru Obasa during the leadership crisis that rocked the Assembly in January 2025.
Elliot, who represents Surulere Constituency I, said lawmakers acted under the impression that the move had the backing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, the lawmaker reacted to recent remarks by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who claimed Elliot nearly lost his political position over intelligence reports linking him to the impeachment plot.
‘I was out of the country’
Elliot disclosed that he was outside Nigeria when the impeachment unfolded, explaining that he travelled to South Africa with his wife during the Assembly’s recess period.
“I would like to state categorically that I wasn’t in the country. My wife and I travelled during the period of January 13th of 2025,” he said.
“We were in recess and then it was an opportunity for us to travel to attend my wife’s younger sister’s wedding.”
According to him, news of Obasa’s impeachment came as a surprise while he was abroad.
“That was the time Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa was impeached. It came to me as a shock because I was in South Africa then,” Elliot stated.
He explained that by the time he returned to Nigeria, many lawmakers had already signed the impeachment notice.
“And then I saw that almost everybody had signed. And pretty much we thought it was from the presidency. In all fairness, we thought it was from the presidency,” he added.
Tinubu ordered Obasa’s return – Elliot
The lawmaker further disclosed that President Tinubu later clarified that the impeachment did not have his approval and instructed lawmakers to reverse the decision.
“But eventually, Mr President called us and made us understand that it was not from him and asked us to return the speaker.
“And we did,” Elliot said.
Reacting to Gbajabiamila’s comments, Elliot expressed disappointment, saying he was shocked that someone he regarded as a political mentor would publicly suggest he almost lost his position over the matter.
“So, my leader coming to say this, that I almost lost his job, one I have served and has also been there for me for this long, to have said that came to me as a shock,” he stated.
Inside the Obasa impeachment crisis
The leadership crisis in the Lagos Assembly began on January 13, 2025, when lawmakers impeached Obasa while he was reportedly on vacation in the United States.
The legislators accused him of gross misconduct, abuse of office, alleged financial mismanagement, poor leadership style and persistent lateness to plenary sessions.
Following his removal, Mojisola Meranda, the deputy Speaker was elected Speaker, becoming the first woman to occupy the position in the history of the Assembly.
Obasa, however, rejected the impeachment, insisting that due process was not followed.
The development triggered weeks of political tension, legal battles and interventions from leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress before the crisis was eventually resolved with Meranda’s resignation and Obasa’s reinstatement as Speaker.