Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, says he nearly lost his job due to Desmond Elliot’s alleged role in the Lagos State House of Assembly speakership crisis that led to the brief removal and reinstatement of Mudashiru Obasa.

Gbajabiamila made the disclosure on Thursday during an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, where he detailed how the political fallout from the episode dragged his name into controversy at the presidency.

He said President Tinubu personally raised concerns with him during the crisis and mentioned Lagos lawmaker Desmond Elliot among those allegedly linked to the impeachment move.

“I almost lost my job as chief of staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. He’s alive today; you can go and verify with him,” Gbajabiamila said.

According to him, Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence at the height of the crisis, where he was briefed on developments within the Lagos Assembly.

He said he immediately contacted Elliot and urged him to distance himself from any involvement in the impeachment plot.

Gbajabiamila said he later escalated the matter again after Elliot allegedly declined to publicly clarify his position.

“If it were not that I had the kind of relationship I had with the president, I wouldn’t be here today,” he added.

He also said the Department of State Services (DSS) later contacted him with claims that he was backing Elliot in the crisis, an allegation he denied.

Gbajabiamila further accused Elliot of stoking tensions within his Surulere constituency, alleging that the situation deepened divisions along religious lines.

The Lagos Assembly crisis began in January 2025 when Obasa was impeached over allegations of misconduct.

He was later reinstated after political intervention, while the legality of the process was challenged in court and eventually nullified.