Desmond Elliott withdraws from APC primary, alleges intimidation of supporters

Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliott, has withdrawn from the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Surulere Constituency I seat, alleging that his supporters were intimidated and denied access to the voting venue.

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Mr Elliott announced his withdrawal on Wednesday at the Paddington Mini Stadium on Western Avenue, Lagos, where the APC primary was being held.

The actor turned politician said repeated appeals to electoral officials to allow his supporters into the venue were ignored.

“And of course, in all zones, they’ve been intimidating and stopping us. I want to officially announce my withdrawal from this particular race. This is my ward. If you go outside, those are my people outside,” he said in a video circulating on social media Wednesday afternooon.

He added that many of his supporters were prevented from entering the venue despite several interventions.

“They’ve not been allowed,” Mr Elliott noted shortly before announcing his withdrawal from the contest.

Following his announcement, supporters of the lawmaker staged a peaceful protest and later exited the venue with him.

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“Good luck. Thank you, and God bless you,” he told party members as he stepped down from the race.

His withdrawal from the race leaves Barakat Bakare-Odunuga, a former Special Adviser on Housing to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the sole candidate.

Mrs Bakare-Odunuga had enjoyed solid support of APC’s establishment in the constituency in the run-up to the primary election.

Mr Elliott, who has represented the Surulere Constituency I since 2015 and was seeking to be elected for the fourth term in 2027, said he decided to leave the venue to avoid any breakdown of law and order, stressing that no political contest should lead to violence or loss of lives.

He also urged the leadership of the APC to ensure that the party’s primaries across Lagos State are conducted in a free and fair manner.

Mr Elliot had had a smooth ride in the past three election cycles since 2015.

This time, his re-election bid has faced a major hurdle as the political establishment of the APC in his constituency and the state in general which had backed him in the past elections, appeared to have withdrawn their support.

His major backer, Femi Gbajabiamila, who is the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, recently said supporting the former actor nearly cost him his job.

He said he was confronted by President Tinubu over Mr Elliot’s involvement in the January 2025 move to remove Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, a strong ally of Mr Tinubu.

In the lead-up to Wednesday’s primary, party stalwarts in Mr Elliot’s constituency had picked his sole rival, Mrs Bakare-Odunuga, over him, declaring her as the party’s consensus candidate for the constituency in the next year’s general election.

Elliot’s clarifies

But Mr Elliot, during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Mr Elliott explained why he signed the impeachment document that removed Mr Obasa from office, saying many lawmakers initially believed the move had the backing of President Bola Tinubu.

“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,” he said.

Mr Elliott spoke while reacting to comments by the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who reportedly said intelligence reports linked him to the impeachment plot against Mr Obasa.

READ ALSO: Why I supported Lagos Speaker Obasa’s removal — Desmond Elliott

According to Mr Elliott, he was outside Nigeria when the crisis erupted.

“I would like to state categorically that I wasn’t in the country. My wife and I travelled during the period of January 13, 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 said he was in South Africa when he learnt about the impeachment and returned to Nigeria about two days later.

“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,” he explained.

Mr Elliott added that the lawmakers later received clarification from President Tinubu that the impeachment did not have presidential approval.

“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 said.

The Lagos Assembly crisis began on 13 January 2025 when a majority of lawmakers removed Mr Obasa as speaker while he was reportedly outside the country.

The lawmakers accused him of gross misconduct, abuse of office, high-handedness, poor leadership style, persistent lateness to plenary sessions, and alleged financial mismanagement of Assembly funds.

Following his removal, his deputy, Mojisola Meranda, was elected speaker, becoming the first woman to lead the Assembly.

Mr Obasa, however, rejected the impeachment, insisting that due process was not followed.

The controversy triggered weeks of political tension within the Assembly and the Lagos chapter of the APC, leading to court cases, rival claims to leadership and interventions by party leaders before Mr Obasa was eventually reinstated after Mrs Meranda resigned as speaker.