Between Femi Gbajabiamila and His Former Protégé, Desmond Elliot

For years, the political friendship between former Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, and member representing Surulere Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliot, was the stuff of political folklore in Lagos corridors of power. The former Speaker of the House of Representatives was widely credited as the singular force behind the Nollywood-turned-politician’s remarkable legislative journey — from celluloid fame to three terms on the floor of the assembly. Society Watch gathered that as recently as 2023, it was the former Speaker’s intervention that saved Elliot from what would have been a most embarrassing political exit from the assembly — a fact that underscores just how consequential that relationship once was.

But as they say in Lagos political circles, yesterday’s godfather is today’s obstacle. The two men, once inseparable in political calculation, have since parted ways — and the fallout is beginning to crystallise in ways that could permanently alter Elliot’s political future.

Society Watch has reliably gathered that Gbajabiamila has not only distanced himself from his former protégé but has quietly identified and begun grooming a replacement. The name making the rounds in Surulere political circles is that of Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, former Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Housing. A seasoned party loyalist, Odunuga-Bakare had contested the State Assembly seat in 2022 but graciously stepped down in deference to party directives — a sacrifice the party apparatus appears now ready to handsomely reward.

As Elliot approaches the twilight of his third and final term in 2027, the clock is ticking loudly. His political future beyond the assembly remains uncertain, and without his erstwhile godfather’s backing, the terrain looks considerably more treacherous.

Yet those who know Desmond Elliot well counsel against writing his obituary just yet. The actor-turned-lawmaker, we gathered, is not exiting the stage quietly. He is said to be strategising carefully — mapping out moves to outmanoeuvre his former political benefactor and keep his ambitions firmly alive.