Desmond Elliot has withdrawn from the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the Surulere Constituency I seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly, alleging intimidation and exclusion of his supporters from the voting venue.
In a video circulating on social media on Wednesday, Elliot was seen announcing his withdrawal at the venue of the primary election in Surulere.
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,” he said.
He further alleged that many of his supporters were denied access to the polling area despite efforts to resolve the situation.
Following his announcement, supporters of the lawmaker staged a peaceful protest before gradually leaving the venue alongside him.
The lawmaker said his decision to withdraw was aimed at preventing any breakdown of law and order, stressing that no political contest was worth the loss of lives. He also urged the APC leadership to ensure that primary elections across the state are conducted in a free and fair manner.
However, Femi Gbajabiamila, the chief of staff to President Bola Tinubu, described the exercise in Surulere Constituency I as peaceful and credible.
Gbajabiamila spoke with journalists after casting his vote at Ward G2 (Adeniran Ogunsanya Ward 5) in Alaka Housing Estate, Surulere.
“You know, this is my ward, Ward G2, and I have been voting here in Ward G2 for as long as I have been in politics,” he said.
“And anytime I come to vote, whatever office or election it is, my reaction is always the same. When I see peaceful, fair, credible, orderly elections, I am always very happy.
“And that is exactly what I have seen today,” he added.
Elliot, who has represented Surulere Constituency I since 2015, was seeking a fourth consecutive term in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The lawmaker has been at loggerheads with Gbajabiamila in recent weeks over his involvement in the impeachment of Mudashiru Obasa, the speaker of Lagos House of Assembly, in January 2025.
Speaking with members of the APC recently, Gbajabiamila, who formerly represented the constituency at the House of Representatives, said President Bola Tinubu summoned him to his Abuja residence during the controversy surrounding Obasa’s impeachment and mentioned Elliot among those allegedly involved in the crisis rocking the Lagos State House of Assembly. He said he initially defended the lawmaker before later reaching out to him directly.
According to Gbajabiamila, he subsequently called Elliot and warned him to distance himself from the impeachment plot if he had any involvement in it. But the Lagos lawmaker never complied.
He explained that the issue became serious when the Director General of DSS informed him that his name was repeatedly being mentioned in connection with the impeachment saga.
Gbajabiamila said he immediately contacted Elliot and instructed him to publicly deny any suggestion that he was acting on his behalf.
“I called him again. ‘Desmond, go and make a public statement that you are not part of this. Go and make a public statement,’” he said.
“I almost lost my job as chief of staff last year because of Desmond Elliot,” Gbajabiamila said.
“If it were not that I had the kind of relationship I had with the president, I wouldn’t be here today,” Gbajabiamila added.
The former speaker of the House of Representatives said he was particularly disturbed by Elliot’s attempts to allegedly introduce religious divisions in the constituency by using the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to write letters to him and the party leadership over what he described as efforts at “forcing division between the Muslims and the Christians.”
“I’ve been in the political process for over 25 years. I’ve never heard where people bring religious division into this matter,” he said.
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