Lagos State House of Assembly member Desmond Elliot has explained why he signed the impeachment notice against former Speaker Mudashiru Obasa during the January 2025 leadership crisis, stating that he believed the move had the backing of the presidency.
The lawmaker, who represents Surulere Constituency I, made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.
Elliot, who was responding to remarks by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, that intelligence linking him to the impeachment attempt nearly cost him his job, said he was out of the country when the incident occurred.
“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. We were in recess and then it was an opportunity for us to travel to attend my wife’s younger sister’s wedding,” he said.
According to Elliot, he was in South Africa when news of Obasa’s impeachment broke, and it came as a shock to him. He added that when he returned, he saw that almost everyone had signed the impeachment document.
“And pretty much we thought it was from the presidency. In all fairness, we thought it was from the presidency. And, of course, I appended my own signature,” he said.
Elliot disclosed that lawmakers later received clarification from President Bola Tinubu that the impeachment was not authorised by him. “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 accusation, Elliot said he was surprised by the comment considering their longstanding political relationship, noting that it came as a shock to him.
The Obasa impeachment saga erupted on January 13, 2025, when a majority of the Lagos Assembly removed the long-serving Speaker, accusing him of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and financial mismanagement. After weeks of political tension and interventions by party leaders, Obasa was eventually reinstated as speaker.
