Dare Babalola
Actor-turned-politician and incumbent lawmaker, Desmond Elliot, has lost his bid to return to the Lagos State House of Assembly after suffering a heavy defeat in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary for Surulere Constituency I.
Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, who was reportedly backed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, secured a landslide victory in the exercise held on Wednesday.
Odunuga-Bakare polled 11,385 votes across the constituency to defeat Elliot, who garnered 270 votes.
The primary witnessed a large turnout of APC members, with results from several wards showing overwhelming support for Odunuga-Bakare.
At Akinhanmi/Cole Ward, she secured 2,191 votes against Elliot’s 82 votes, while in Yaba/Ojuelegba Ward, she polled 980 votes as Elliot managed only three votes.
She also recorded 523 votes at Gbaja Stadium Ward, where Elliot failed to secure any vote.
Elliot’s strongest showing came at Shitta/Ogunlana Ward, where he polled 270 votes against Odunuga-Bakare’s 169 votes.
At Owolewa Open Field, Off Randle Avenue, Odunuga-Bakare secured 1,956 votes while Elliot got 10 votes. In Iponri/Eric Moore Ward, she polled 1,805 votes against Elliot’s six votes.
Earlier, Elliot rejected the process, insisting that he did not withdraw from the contest but only pulled out his agents over alleged intimidation and irregularities.
Speaking with journalists, the lawmaker said he remained loyal to the APC and was pursuing an appeal over the conduct of the primary.
“I’m a party person. This is my home,” Elliot said. “I’m not going to say any more than the fact that we are not accepting this process. I’m withdrawing my agent from going to participate in the voting process, but we are appealing the process.”
The lawmaker dismissed reports suggesting he stepped down from the race, maintaining that his decision was a protest against what he described as the harassment of his supporters.
“Thank God nobody was killed, but a lot of people were injured. There are videos of people going to the hospital,” he said.
Elliot also alleged that many of his supporters were denied access to the venue during accreditation and verification.
“When I entered, I discovered that all my supporters were outside. They weren’t being allowed in. The next thing I heard was that in 20 minutes they were going to stop the process. How can you stop in 20 minutes?” he queried.
He further questioned why those allegedly controlling the party structure would still resort to intimidation tactics.
“You have the machinery and the structure with you. I don’t have the structure, you have everything with you. Then why are you scared? Why don’t you just go to the field?” he asked.
Elliot, who was first elected to represent Surulere Constituency I in 2015, said his camp would continue to challenge the outcome through the party’s appeal process.
