Lagos lawmaker and actor, Desmond Elliot, has gone down on his knees and prostrated before the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, pleading for forgiveness and reconciliation over his role in the last All Progressives Congress primary.
Elliot made the emotional appeal during a meeting with Gbajabiamila and other APC chieftains, where he admitted that he had no excuse for his actions and asked his political mentor not to be angry with him.
In a video shared by Lagos Junction on X on Sunday, the Surulere Constituency I lawmaker was seen kneeling and later prostrating before Gbajabiamila in a dramatic show of remorse.
Elliot said he believed he might have been misguided during the political battle, adding that he wanted to mend fences with the party leadership.
He pleaded, saying he was deeply sorry and appealed to Gbajabiamila to forgive him, stressing that prostrating was part of the traditional way of showing respect and seeking forgiveness.
Gbajabiamila subsequently asked him to get up.
The latest apology is not Elliot’s first attempt to repair his relationship with the former Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Appearing earlier on TVC’s Your View, the actor-turned-politician had apologised to Gbajabiamila, describing him as his political mentor and elder brother.
Elliot said he had learnt much of what he knew about politics from Gbajabiamila and insisted that any disagreement between them was never deliberate.
The renewed reconciliation bid comes against the backdrop of political disagreements within the Lagos APC and the crisis that engulfed the Lagos State House of Assembly leadership.
Gbajabiamila had previously disclosed that he faced pressure at the Presidency over intelligence reports linking Elliot to moves surrounding the speakership tussle.
The Chief of Staff said President Bola Tinubu had confronted him over the allegations, although Elliot denied the claims.
The Assembly crisis was eventually brought under control after interventions by senior party leaders, but the latest public display of remorse by Elliot appears to signal a fresh attempt to completely bury the political differences.
