Desmond Elliot has explained why he signed the impeachment notice against Mudashiru Obasa during the January 2025 leadership crisis that rocked the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, the Surulere Constituency I lawmaker said he was out of the country when the impeachment occurred and initially believed the move had the backing of the presidency.
Elliot’s comments were in response to allegations by Femi Gbajabiamila, who claimed intelligence reports linked him to the plot against Obasa and nearly cost him his political position.
According to Elliot, he and his wife had travelled abroad during the Assembly’s recess to attend his wife’s younger sister’s wedding when the crisis erupted.
“I would like to state categorically that I wasn’t in the country. My wife and I travelled during the period of January 13, 2025,” he said.
The lawmaker disclosed that he was in South Africa when news of Obasa’s impeachment broke, describing the development as shocking and unexpected.
“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 upon his return, he noticed that most lawmakers had already signed the impeachment notice and believed the action had the approval of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“And then I saw that almost everybody had signed. Pretty much, we thought it was from the presidency. In all fairness, we thought it was from the presidency,” he said.
Elliot added that he eventually appended his signature to the document after several lawmakers had already endorsed it.
However, he said the lawmakers later received clarification directly from President Tinubu, who reportedly denied authorising the impeachment and instructed them to reinstate Obasa.
“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,” he added.
Reacting to Gbajabiamila’s remarks, Elliot expressed disappointment, noting that he had maintained a longstanding political relationship with the former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“So, my leader coming to say this — that I almost cost him his job — came to me as a shock,” Elliot said.
The crisis began on January 13, 2025, when a majority of lawmakers in the Lagos Assembly voted to remove Obasa as Speaker while he was reportedly in the United States.
The lawmakers accused him of gross misconduct, abuse of office, poor leadership style, habitual lateness to plenary sessions, and alleged mismanagement of Assembly funds — allegations Obasa denied.
Following his removal, Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda was elected Speaker.
However, after weeks of political tension, legal battles, and interventions by leaders of the All Progressives Congress, Meranda stepped down and returned to her former position as deputy speaker, paving the way for Obasa’s reinstatement as Speaker of the Assembly.
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