Lagos State lawmaker Desmond Elliot has withdrawn from the All Progressives Congress primary election for the Surulere 1 constituency in the House of Assembly, alleging that his supporters were being intimidated.
The actor-turned-politician announced his withdrawal on Wednesday at the Paddington mini stadium in Western Avenue, where the party’s primary was being conducted.
Elliot said he made several appeals to the electoral officers to grant his supporters access to the polling venue, but his requests 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.
He also alleged that many of his supporters were denied access to the polling venue despite repeated appeals to electoral officials.
“They’ve not been allowed,” Elliot stated shortly before announcing his withdrawal from the contest.
Following the development, his supporters staged a peaceful protest and gradually exited the venue alongside him.
“Good luck. Thank you, and God bless you,” he told party members after stepping down from the race.
Elliot explained that he decided to leave the venue to avoid any breakdown of law and order, stressing that no election was worth the loss of lives. He also called on the APC leadership to ensure a free and fair process during the conduct of its primaries across the state.
Hours before the primary, Elliot had also alleged that his security aides were taken away from him. Speaking in a trending video on social media, he accused party leaders and local government officials of coercing party members to support a preferred aspirant.
“Intimidation, coercion, twisting and forcing people to follow their own candidate is what is happening today in Surulere. Telling them they will not be beneficiaries of some empowerment,” he said.
He added: “We have been intimidated so much that a lot of people have been fired from the local government because they follow me. My security personnel were also taken away from me yesterday. I’m now left alone to myself. What have I done?”
Elliot, who is in his fourth term in the Lagos Assembly, recently apologised to Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, after Gbajabiamila publicly withdrew his support for Elliot over the lawmaker’s involvement in moves to impeach Lagos House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa in 2025.
