I thought it had presidential backing — Elliot on Obasa impeachment

Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot, has said he believed the impeachment move against Speaker Mudashiru Obasa had presidential backing before appending his signature to the notice.

Elliot, who represents Surulere Constituency I, made the clarification on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily while reacting to comments by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the impeachment saga.

The lawmaker disclosed that he was outside Nigeria when the incident occurred and only became aware of developments after the process had begun.

“I would like to state categorically that I wasn’t in the country. My wife and I travelled during the period of January 13th, 2025. We were in South Africa,” he said.

He added that the impeachment came as a surprise to him upon his return, noting that many lawmakers believed the process had the support of the presidency at the time.

“And then I saw that almost everybody had signed. We thought it was from the Presidency, and I appended my own signature,” he said.

Elliot explained that President Bola Tinubu later clarified that he did not authorise the impeachment and subsequently directed lawmakers to reverse the decision, which they complied with.

Reacting to Gbajabiamila’s remarks, Elliot described the comments as shocking given their long-standing relationship, adding that the entire episode had been misunderstood.