Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has revealed that he nearly lost his position after a political misunderstanding linked to Lagos State House of Assembly lawmaker, Desmond Elliot
Gbajabiamila made the revelation while speaking about the crisis surrounding the attempted impeachment of Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, noting that the situation almost cost him his job as Chief of Staff.
He explained that during the height of the political tension, President Tinubu summoned him to Abuja to clarify allegations linking him to the internal conflict within the Lagos Assembly.
According to him, the President questioned his closeness to Desmond Elliot and raised concerns about his alleged involvement in the crisis.
He recounted: “I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. Mr President called me to his house in Abuja during the Lagos Speaker Obasa saga.”
He further quoted the President saying: “He said, ‘I hear this Desmond is your boy, the one we gave you,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir. He is one of the people causing problems in the Lagos House of Assembly.’”
Gbajabiamila added that he immediately denied any wrongdoing and tried to clarify Desmond Elliot’s role in the matter, insisting he was not aligned with any faction.
He continued: “Immediately, I told the president that Desmond wasn’t part of them, but the president replied and said that, from the intelligence he received, Desmond was part of them.”
Following the meeting, he said he reached out to Desmond Elliot to relay the President’s concerns and urged him to distance himself from any group involved in the crisis.
He said the situation escalated further when security agencies got involved.
“After that meeting, I called Desmond and told him what the president said, and asked him to leave the group if he was part of them. Three days later, the DSS DG called me and said there was a problem.
“He said your name is being mentioned, that you’re the one behind the impeachment saga and that you’re supporting Desmond.
“I spoke to the DSS DG and told him I had spoken to Desmond and he denied being part of the group. I then asked Desmond to make a public statement denying his involvement in the impeachment saga, but till today, he hasn’t done it.”
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