Elliot said he was out of the country at the time of the incident and had the impression that the impeachment move had presidential backing.
“I would like to state categorically that I wasn’t in the country. My wife and I travelled during the period of January 13th of 2025.
“We were in recess and then it was an opportunity for us to travel to attend my wife’s younger sister’s wedding,” he said.
He added that the impeachment occurred while he was in South Africa and came as a shock to him.
“That was the time Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa was impeached (by Lagos State House of Assembly).
“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. And pretty much we thought it was from the presidency. In all fairness, we thought it was from the presidency.
“And, of course, I appended my own signature. I believe I was maybe 30-something person at that point in time because others who had travelled had returned and others who signed,” he said.
Elliot said the lawmakers later received clarification from President Bola Tinubu that the impeachment was not authorised.
“But 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,” he added.
Obasa Impeachment Plot
Obasa was briefly removed as Lagos State Assembly speaker in January 2025 while he was vacationing in the United States on allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, high-handedness, poor leadership, persistent lateness to sessions, and alleged financial mismanagement of Assembly funds.
His deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was immediately elected as the new Speaker, becoming the first female to occupy the position.
Obasa rejected the impeachment as illegal and unconstitutional, insisting due process was not followed. The crisis lingered for weeks before it was eventually resolved.
