- Desmond Elliot said lawmakers believed Obasa’s impeachment had President Tinubu’s approval
- The lawmaker revealed he signed the impeachment document after returning from South Africa
- President Tinubu later clarified that the impeachment move did not originate from him
Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot, has explained his involvement in the January 2025 impeachment of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, stating that lawmakers initially believed the move had the backing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Elliot, who represents Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.
The actor-turned-politician was responding to comments by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who had claimed that Elliot nearly caused him to lose his position because of intelligence reports linking him to the impeachment plot.
Reacting to the allegation, Elliot expressed surprise at the remarks, especially considering his longstanding political relationship with Gbajabiamila.
“So, my leader coming to say this, that I almost made him lose his job, one I have served and who has also been there for me for this long, came to me as a shock,” he said.
Providing details of the events surrounding the impeachment, Elliot explained that he was outside Nigeria when the development occurred.
According to him, he and his wife travelled on January 13, 2025, during the Assembly recess to attend his wife’s younger sister’s wedding in South Africa.
“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.
Elliot stated that news of Obasa’s impeachment came as a surprise while he was still 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,” he explained.
The lawmaker said he returned to Nigeria about two days later and discovered that most members of the Assembly had already signed the impeachment document.
“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 stated.
Elliot added that he subsequently appended his signature to the impeachment document after assuming the process had presidential approval.
“Of course, I appended my own signature. I believe I was maybe the 30-something person at that point in time,” he said.
However, according to Elliot, the lawmakers later received clarification directly from President Tinubu that the impeachment move did not originate from 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.
The impeachment crisis began on January 13, 2025, when a majority of Lagos Assembly lawmakers removed Obasa from office while he was reportedly on holiday in the United States.
The lawmakers accused him of gross misconduct, abuse of office, financial mismanagement, poor leadership and persistent lateness to legislative sessions.
Following his removal, Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda was elected Speaker, becoming the first woman to occupy the position in the state’s history.
Obasa, however, rejected the impeachment, insisting it was unconstitutional and carried out without due process.
The crisis subsequently triggered weeks of political tension, legal disputes and competing claims to leadership within the Assembly before interventions by APC leaders and President Tinubu eventually led to a resolution.
The dispute was eventually resolved after Meranda stepped down, paving the way for Obasa’s reinstatement as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.