Lawmaker representing Surulere I Constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliot, has admitted his involvement in the impeachment process against former Lagos Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, saying he initially believed the directive came from President Bola Tinubu.
Elliot made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, following comments by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who spoke about the political crisis and alleged warning he gave to some lawmakers over the impeachment move.
Gbajabiamila had claimed he cautioned Elliot against participating in the plot and later asked him to publicly distance himself from it after intervention from the Department of State Services (DSS), but said the lawmaker declined.
Reacting, Elliot said he was abroad when the impeachment occurred, noting that many lawmakers had already signed the motion before he returned.
He explained that he assumed the process had presidential backing at the time.
“Frankly speaking, I was not in the country… I was in South Africa. When I returned, I saw that almost everybody had signed,” he said.
“I pretty much thought that the directive was from the President and I appended my own signature. Later, Mr President called us and clarified that it was not from him, and we restored the Speaker,” he added.
Elliot said he was surprised by Gbajabiamila’s recent comments suggesting he nearly lost his job over the matter, insisting the situation had been misunderstood.
The crisis ultimately ended after President Tinubu intervened and directed the reinstatement of Obasa as Speaker.
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