Actor-turned politician Desmond Elliot has rejected the outcome of the All Progressives Congress primary election for Surulere Constituency I, insisting that he would challenge the exercise through the party’s appeal process.
Elliot lost the APC ticket for another term in the Lagos State House of Assembly after Barakat Odunuga-Bakare defeated him in Wednesday’s primary election.
Odunuga-Bakare, who is believed to have the backing of the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, secured 11,385 votes to emerge victorious, while Elliot polled 270 votes.
Speaking with journalists after the exercise, Elliot expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the primary, saying he would formally contest the process through the party’s internal mechanism.
“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.
The lawmaker alleged that the primary election was marred by intimidation and violence, claiming several of his supporters were injured during the exercise.
“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,” he added.
Elliot further claimed that many of his supporters were denied access to the venue where the voting took place.
“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?’” Elliot said.
“The next thing I heard is that in 20 minutes they’re going to stop. How can you stop in 20 minutes?” he queried.
The legislator also questioned allegations that some membership cards presented by his supporters were fake.
“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.
Elliot maintained that he never withdrew from the contest, explaining that he only instructed his supporters and agents to stop participating in the voting over alleged irregularities.
“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,” Elliot said.
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