By Ibrahim Kegbegbe
Fresh political tension has emerged in Surulere following comments by Femi Gbajabiamila that may weaken the chances of Desmond Elliott returning as the All Progressives Congress candidate for Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2027.
Gbajabiamila, who addressed political stakeholders at a town hall meeting in Surulere on Thursday evening, said his relationship with Elliott became strained during the crisis that rocked the Lagos State House of Assembly over the attempted impeachment of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa.
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The meeting was attended by Femi Gbajabiamila alongside Fuad Kayode Laguda, Sulaimon Bamidele, and Barrister Barakat Odunuga, who is widely being projected by party stakeholders as a leading contender for the Lagos State House of Assembly seat for Surulere Constituency I in the next election.
According to him, Bola Tinubu personally summoned him to his Abuja residence during the crisis and questioned Elliott’s political loyalty.
“I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff to President Tinubu last year. President Tinubu called me to his study in his Abuja house during the Obasa impeachment saga and asked me if Desmond Elliott was my boy. I replied to the president that he’s my boy,” Gbajabiamila said.
He added that Tinubu informed him that intelligence reports had linked Elliott to lawmakers allegedly involved in the internal crisis.
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“President Tinubu then told me that he heard that Desmond was part of the people causing problems in the Lagos State House of Assembly. Immediately, I told the President that Desmond wasn’t part of them, but the president replied to me and said that from the intelligence he got, Desmond was part of them,” he said.
The Merit Newspaper reports that Gbajabiamila further said he immediately contacted Elliott and advised him to dissociate himself from the group if he had any involvement.
“Three days later, the DSS DG called me and said there’s a problem. He said your name is being mentioned that you’re the one behind the impeachment saga and that you’re supporting Desmond,” he said.
He said he subsequently asked Elliott to publicly deny involvement in the impeachment saga, but the lawmaker failed to do so.
“I then called Desmond to make a public statement to deny his involvement in the impeachment saga, but till today, he hasn’t done it,” Gbajabiamila said, adding that he had since washed his hands off anything concerning Elliott.
The comments have stirred fresh debate within APC circles in Surulere, where discussions over the party’s ticket for the 2027 state assembly election are beginning to gather momentum. Elliott, first elected in 2015, has long been seen as a political protégé of Gbajabiamila, whose influence remains central to APC politics in the constituency.
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With Gbajabiamila publicly distancing himself from the lawmaker before party stakeholders, his remarks are likely to shape succession calculations in Surulere and may significantly affect Elliott’s chances of securing the APC ticket for another term.
