Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, says he nearly lost his position over allegations linking Desmond Elliott to the impeachment plot against Mudashiru Obasa, the speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly.
Gbajabiamila made the revelation while speaking to some stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos.
His comments come amid reports that he declined to endorse Elliott’s return to the Lagos state house of assembly.
According to the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Tinubu confronted him in Abuja during the crisis surrounding Obasa’s attempted impeachment.
“I almost lost my job as chief of staff last year because of this matter,” he said.
Gbajabiamila said the president summoned him to his residence in Abuja over intelligence reports implicating Elliott.
“Mr President called me to his study in Abuja during the Obasa saga,” he said.
“I heard that this Desmond is your boy, the one we gave to you.”
The presidential chief of staff said Tinubu accused Elliott of being among those destabilising the Lagos assembly.
“He is part of the people causing problems in the Lagos state assembly,” he quoted the president as saying.
Gbajabiamila said he immediately defended Elliott despite not knowing whether the lawmaker was actually involved.
“I had not spoken to Desmond,” he said.
“I did not know whether he was part of it or not, but I told Mr President that he was not part of it.”
According to him, Tinubu insisted intelligence reports linked Elliott to the impeachment moves and instructed that he should retrace his steps if involved.
“Well, I am telling you from intelligence that he is part of it,” Gbajabiamila quoted the president as saying.
The chief of staff said he subsequently contacted Elliott and warned him about the development.
“I called Desmond and told him what the president said,” he said.
“If you are one of these people, get out of there.”
DSS LINKS GBAJABIAMILA TO THE SAGA
Gbajabiamila added that the issue escalated days later when the director-general of the Department of State Services (DSS) allegedly informed him that his own name had been linked to the crisis.
“Three days later, the DSS DG called me and said there was a problem,” he said.
“Your name is being mentioned everywhere, that you are supporting Desmond in this matter.”
The former speaker said he again reached out to Elliott and urged him to publicly deny involvement in the impeachment plot.
“I told him to go and make a public statement that he was not part of it,” he said.
