For over a decade, Femi Gbajabiamila and Desmond Elliot were among Lagos politics’ tightest double acts: the Surulere godfather and his Nollywood-turned-lawmaker protégé. That arrangement has now collapsed, and the rupture is messier than either man would like to admit.
Gbajabiamila, now chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, finally put words to the estrangement on Thursday during an APC stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos.
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The former House of Representatives’ speaker’s account was striking in its candour and its grievance.
The Obasa Crisis and a Near-Dismissal
The trouble traces back to January 2025, when a majority of the Lagos State House of Assembly impeached the long-serving Speaker Mudashiru Obasa while he was vacationing in the United States. Lawmakers accused him of gross misconduct, abuse of office, high-handedness, and alleged financial impropriety.
His deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was immediately sworn in as speaker — the first woman to hold the position. Obasa rejected the move, went to court, and Tinubu reportedly intervened to restore him after 49 days.
It was in the thick of that crisis that Gbajabiamila says his position at Aso Rock came under threat.
According to him, Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence and named Elliot, who represents Surulere Constituency 1, the same constituency as his godfather, among those allegedly stoking the legislative crisis. Gbajabiamila said he defended Elliot before the president, then called the lawmaker directly and told him to publicly distance himself from the impeachment move. Elliot denied knowing anything about the plot.
“I almost lost my job as a Chief Of Staff to the president because of Desmond Elliot”
Femi Gbajabiamila pic.twitter.com/R2fOak7iTl
— Asiwaju (@mr_asiwaju) May 14, 2026
The situation escalated when the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS) called Gbajabiamila to inform him that intelligence reports were linking him to the impeachment plot through Elliot.
Gbajabiamila says only his longstanding personal relationship with Tinubu saved his job. “If it were not that I had the kind of relationship I had with the president, I wouldn’t be here today,” he said Thursday.
He also accused Elliot of stoking religious tension in the Surulere constituency, alleging the lawmaker was causing division between Muslims and Christians, a charge that goes beyond political disagreement into something more personal.
Elliot’s Apology That Wasn’t Quite
The rift between the two men had been an open secret in political circles for months, but it burst fully into public view when Elliot declared his intention to seek a fourth term in the Lagos State House of Assembly on April 30.
Speaking during a visit to his Surulere Constituency I, the former actor addressed his relationship with Gbajabiamila, denying any rift between both men.
“Our leader is a compassionate leader, a leader of thought,” he said. “We are children. Children sometimes err. If I have erred in any way, my leader, I am sorry.”
It was the kind of statement that simultaneously acknowledges a problem and refuses to name it. A politician’s apology, calibrated for plausible deniability.
The Replacement Already Waiting
The fallout has moved well beyond words. Sources indicate that Gbajabiamila has quietly identified and begun grooming a replacement for Elliot in the Surulere seat: Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, a former Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Housing, who had previously contested the same seat in 2022 but stood down on party orders.
Stakeholders in the Surulere APC have alleged that the selection process has been skewed in favour of Odunuga-Bakare even before any primaries, and that appointees and loyalists are being threatened with losing their positions if they fail to support her. APC primaries for the Lagos State House of Assembly seat are scheduled for May 21.
Elliot, for his part, has been doing ward tours and insisting Surulere still backs him. Some of his supporters have dismissed concerns about party structure, arguing that his backers hold valid APC membership cards and are ready for the primaries.
Yesterday, Monday 11th May 2026, we kicked off our campaign for the Lagos State House of Assembly primaries — and Surulere 1 showed up as ONE.
Our common goal is bigger than politics: our representation is rooted in service, active listening, and empowerment.
With unity and… pic.twitter.com/QA7Gr4vOCe
— Desmond Elliot (@DesmondOElliot) May 12, 2026
A Godfather’s Withdrawal
What makes the rupture particularly significant is that Elliot’s previous electoral victories in Surulere were largely built on Gbajabiamila’s endorsement.
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Constituency stakeholders who once voted for Elliot at Gbajabiamila’s urging are now turning against the lawmaker, warning the chief of staff that Surulere cannot afford, in their words, “a fourth-term experiment in failure.”
Philip Ibitoye is a Special Correspondent with EKO HOT BLOG. Click here to find daily analysis and critical insight on trending issues in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria.
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