Desmond Elliot, lawmaker representing Surulere constituency I in the Lagos state house of assembly, says that he would appeal the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election.
On Wednesday, Elliot lost his bid to secure the APC ticket
for a return to the Lagos House of Assembly.
In the primary election held in the constituency, Elliot
lost to Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, an aspirant backed by Femi Gbajabiamila, chief
of staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu, in the assembly race.
Odunuga-Bakare secured 11,385 votes to defeat Elliot, who
polled 270 votes across the wards in the constituency.
According to the breakdown of the results from various wards
as declared in a viral video, Odunuga-Bakare polled 1,956 votes, while Elliot
secured 10 votes at Owolewa Open Field, off Randle Avenue.
Speaking about the controversies surrounding the primary
election, the lawmaker said there was proven video evidence of violence against
his supporters during the exercise.
Elliot said he did not pull out of the race but instead
instructed his supporters and agents to withdraw from participating in 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.
“But the party has also, in its magnanimity, given us an
opportunity to appeal.
“We were appealing, and as I say, it is not a do-or-die
affair. I’m here to serve the people. I mean, that’s my home. They come to my
house.
“So, if I am here to serve you as a person, why will some
people feel it shouldn’t happen? So, I’m not going to say any more than this,
other than the fact that we are not accepting this process. I am not
withdrawing.
“Why I said withdraw then is that I’m withdrawing my agents
from participating in the voting process. But we are appealing the process. We
are definitely appealing.”
The lawmaker said that the primary election was marred by
violence.
“Nobody was killed. But a lot of people were really maimed.
There are videos of people going to the hospital,” he added.
“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.
“If you know you have done well for the people, why are you
now worried? You have the machinery of the structure with you.
“I don’t have the structure. You have everything with you.
Then why are you scared? Why don’t you just go to the field.”
Elliot also alleged that his supporters were intentionally
disenfranchised and intimidated.
“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 said.
“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 that process. So, why would you say they are fake?”
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