Wednesday, June 24, 2026

I was confused when I joined other lawmakers to remove Speaker Obasa: Desmond Elliot

“We thought it (Mr Obasa’s removal) was from the presidency,” Mr Elliot said.

• May 20, 2026
Desmond Elliot
Desmond Elliot and Obasa

Desmond Elliot, the Lagos lawmaker representing Surulere Constituency I, has revealed how he was allegedly confused and railroaded into joining forces to remove Mudashiru Obasa as the speaker.

“I’d like to state categorically that I wasn’t in the country during the period of January 13th, we were in recess. It was an opportunity for us to travel and attend my wife’s younger sister’s wedding. That was the time Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa was impeached.

“It came to me as a shock because I was in South Africa then. So, obviously, it took me about two days to come back. I was also as confused as everybody was, and then, I saw that almost everybody had signed. Pretty much, in all fairness, we thought it was from the presidency,” Mr Elliot said in a Channels TV interview on Tuesday.

The Lagos politician added, “I appended my own signature, I believe I was maybe 30-something person at that point in time because others that had travelled and returned, had also signed. Eventually, Mr President called us and made us understand that it was not from him, and asked us to return the speaker, and we did.”

Mr Elliot’s latest comments followed his apology to the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

Mr Gbajabiamila said he was almost fired by President Bola Tinubu because of Mr Elliot’s role in the removal of Mr Obasa.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Trump with World Cup trophy

Sport

Trump to attend 2026 FIFA World Cup final, present trophy

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed that the United States President Donald Trump will attend the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at MetLife Stadium on July 19.

U.S. President Donald

Agriculture

Iran’s unfrozen funds will be used to buy corn, soyabeans from American farmers: Trump

President Donald Trump says Iran’s unfrozen funds will be used to buy agricultural produce, including corn and soyabeans, from American farmers.

Sport

2026 World Cup: Portugal pound Uzbekistan 5-0; Colombia edge DR Congo

The final Group K games billed for Sunday will see Portugal face Colombia, while DR Congo will tackle Uzbekistan.

Politics

Democracy provides foundation for inclusive, sustainable development: Danish Ambassador

The ambassador of Denmark to Nigeria, Jens Ole Bach Hansen, says democracy provides the strongest foundation for peaceful, inclusive and sustainable development.

Education

OPay partners 3MTT, extends National Innovation Challenge deadline to reach more student innovators

OPay has announced an extension of the application deadline for the National Innovation Challenge from June 14 to July 3, 2026.

Wells Fargo

Anti-Corruption

Wells Fargo bank manager sentenced to prison for stealing cash from ATMs, vault

The former Wells Fargo employee stole cash from the ATMs and the vault inside the branch.