Desmond Elliot rejects APC primary result in Surulere, vows to appeal

• Desmond Elliot lost the APC primary election for Surulere Constituency I to Barakat Odunuga-Bakare and has rejected the result.

• The Lagos lawmaker alleged violence, intimidation and irregularities during the primary, claiming many of his supporters were denied access to vote.

• Elliot said he remains loyal to the APC and will challenge the outcome through the party’s appeal process.

Lagos State lawmaker and Nollywood actor, Desmond Elliot, has rejected the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for Surulere Constituency I after losing the party’s ticket ahead of the next Lagos State House of Assembly election.

Elliot was defeated by Barakat Odunuga-Bakare during Wednesday’s APC primary in Surulere. Odunuga-Bakare reportedly scored 11,385 votes, while Elliot polled 270 votes in the exercise said to be backed by powerful APC structures in Lagos.

The actress-turned-politician, who has represented Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly since 2015, said he would challenge the process through the party’s appeal mechanism, insisting the exercise was flawed.

Speaking with journalists after the primary, Elliot said the outcome would not stand without a formal complaint from his camp.

“We are appealing, and as I say, it is not a do-or-die affair. I’m here to serve the people. That’s my home. They come to my house. So, I’m not going to say any more than this, other than the fact that we are not accepting this process. But the party has also, in its magnanimity, given us an opportunity to appeal,” he said.

READ ALSO: 'I will kill everybody who records me' — outrage as Police officer issues threat in viral video

The APC chieftain also alleged that violence, intimidation and irregularities affected the conduct of the election across some wards in Surulere.

According to him, several of his supporters were injured during the process, although no life was lost.

“Nobody was killed. But a lot of people were really maimed. There are videos of people going to the hospital. This is just primaries. It is not a do-or-die affair. In different wards, people are being intimidated. I have been talking about intimidation for a long time,” Elliot stated.

He further claimed that many of his loyalists were prevented from gaining access to the voting centres, raising concerns over transparency in the accreditation and voting process.

“Why I decided to say I was not going to accept the process was because when I entered, I discovered that virtually all my supporters were outside, and I kept asking, ‘Why were they not coming in?’ The next thing I heard is that in 20 minutes they’re going to stop. How can you stop in 20 minutes?” he queried.

Elliot also faulted claims that membership cards presented by some of his supporters were fake, arguing that proper verification should have been carried out before such conclusions were reached.

“I was hearing that the cards were fake. The only way you can verify if a card is fake is when they go through the verification process and allow them to do that process. So why would you say they are fake?” he asked.

READ ALSO: Nigerian man faces 40 years' imprisonment in U.S. jail after being extradited for $1.5 million  fraud case

The lawmaker dismissed rumours that he had withdrawn from the race, clarifying that he only instructed his agents and supporters to stop participating because of the alleged irregularities observed during the primary.

“The only person who can ask me to step down is the party. If the party says Desmond go down, that is when I will step down because I’m a party person,” he said.

Despite rejecting the result, Elliot maintained that he remains loyal to the APC and committed to serving residents of Surulere Constituency I.

The development is expected to stir fresh political conversations within the Lagos APC, especially as the influence of key party leaders continues to shape local political contests in the state.