Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, said that he almost lost his job because of his support for Desmond Elliot, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly who is seeking another term in office.
In a video seen on Thursday, the atmosphere in the room was charged as party members and supporters listened attentively to Mr Gbajabiamila’s remarks, with many sighing and nodding in agreement as he recounted how the Lagos Assembly crisis and allegations surrounding Desmond Elliot nearly cost him his position as Chief of Staff to the president.
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The CoS said President Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence at the peak of the crisis and confronted him over intelligence reports linked to Mr Elliot.
“I hear this Desmond is your boy,” he quoted the President as saying. Mr Gbajabiamila said he answered in the affirmative.
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The COS said President Tinubu told him that Mr Elliot is one of the lawmakers behind the controversial impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa as the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
“Immediately I said to Mr President, no, no, no. Desmond is not part of them. I haven’t even spoken to him. I didn’t know whether he was part of that. I said, no, he’s not part of them,” he said.
Mr Gbajabiamila said the president insisted that intelligence available to him suggested otherwise.
“‘I’m telling you from intelligence that he is part of them. Go and tell him to retrace his steps.’ This is what Mr President told me. I said, ‘Yes, sir,’” he added.
The chief of staff said he subsequently contacted Mr Elliot to relay the president’s warning.
“I called him. That’s what I told him. Just like the President, this is what he said. If you are one of these people, if you are part of them, get out of there,” he said.
Mr Gbajabiamila also said the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), also called the Department of State Services (SSS). later contacted him over Mr Elliot’s alleged link to the crisis.
“Three days later, the Director General of SSS called me and said there’s a problem. Your name is being mentioned all over the place. That you are the one behind, you are supporting Desmond in this event,” he said.
According to him, he again denied involvement and informed the SSS chief that he would speak further with Mr Elliot.
“I told the DSS, ‘I’m going to have to talk to Desmond’. He has not done anything. I called him again,” he said.
Mr Gbajabiamila added that he advised the lawmaker to publicly deny the allegations, but said Mr Elliot had yet to issue any statement on the matter.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the removal of Mr Obasa by his fellow lawmakers and his reinstatement, allegedly at the instance of Mr Tinubu, who is also from Lagos.
Mr Elliot represents Surulere constituency in the Lagos Assembly, the same constituency that Mr Gbajabiamila represented in the House of Representatives before he became COS.
The actor turned politician is facing a major challenge to his reelection and is believed not to have the support of Mr Gbajabiamila and President Tinubu.
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Background
The revelation comes amid growing political tension within the Surulere chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), where some stakeholders have accused associates of the chief of staff of attempting to influence the succession battle for the Surulere Constituency I seat currently occupied by Mr Elliot.
The controversy followed reports that a female aspirant, believed to enjoy the backing of figures linked to Mr Gbajabiamila’s political camp, was being positioned ahead of the party primaries, a development that triggered accusations of imposition and deepened divisions within the local APC structure.
Some party stakeholders had also urged Mr Gbajabiamila not to support Mr Elliot’s fourth-term ambition, arguing that the lawmaker’s prolonged stay in office was sustained largely by the former speaker’s political influence.
