The Director-General of Desmond Elliot’s campaign organization, Bless Koye has withdrawn his support for the Lagos lawmaker and openly backed another aspirant within the All Progressives Congress (APC), Barakat Odunuga-Bakare.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Koye announced his decision in a video that later spread across social media platforms.
In the video, he revealed that he was leaving Elliot’s political camp and joining the group supporting Odunuga-Bakare ahead of the political contest in Surulere.
“I’ll decamp from Desmond group to Barakat group”, he said in the video.
This development comes after Desmond alleged intimidation, coercion and political victimisation ahead of the forthcoming primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Surulere, Lagos.
In a viral video circulated on Sunday, the lawmaker accused unnamed party leaders and local government officials of allegedly threatening party members and backing a preferred aspirant before the primaries scheduled for May 20, 2026.
Elliott claimed that some local government officials were allegedly removed from their positions because of their support for him.
According to him, the political atmosphere within the Surulere chapter of the APC had become tense due to alleged attempts to force party members to support certain candidates.
“Intimidation, coercion, twisting and forcing people to follow their own candidate is what is existing today in Surulere,” he said.