ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The actor-turned-politician, Desmond Elliot has rejected the outcome of the Surulere Constituency I primary election conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that he would challenge the result through the party’s appeal process.
Elliot lost his bid to secure the APC ticket for another term in the Lagos State House of Assembly after Barakat Odunuga-Bakare defeated him in Wednesday’s exercise.
Odunuga-Bakare, believed to have the backing of Femi Gbajabiamila, scored 11,385 votes to emerge winner, while Elliot polled 270 votes.
Reacting after the primary election, Elliot said he was dissatisfied with the conduct of the exercise and would formally contest the outcome through the APC’s internal appeal 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,” he said.
“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.”
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The lawmaker accused some individuals of intimidating voters and disrupting the exercise, alleging that several of his supporters sustained injuries during the process.
“Nobody was killed. But a lot of people were really maimed. There are videos of people going to the hospital,” Elliot stated.
“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 further alleged that many of his supporters were denied access to the venue where accreditation and 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?’” he 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.
Elliot also questioned claims that some membership cards presented by his supporters were fake, insisting 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.
The legislator maintained that he never withdrew from the race, clarifying that he only instructed his supporters and agents to suspend participation in the voting due to the 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 added.