The lawmaker representing Surulere 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliot, has denied withdrawing from the race for re-election into the Assembly.
The lawmaker, in a video making rounds on social media, claimed that he only withdrew his agent from the voting exercise in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election for the position ahead of the 2027 election following the intimidation and harassment of his supporters.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Elliot had earlier declared that he has officially withdrawn from the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for the Lagos House Assembly seat for Surulere 1.
The withdrawal was personally announced by the lawmaker on Wednesday in a video shared on social media.
He cited intimidation of himself and his supporters as the reason for his withdrawal, lamenting that his supporters were not granted access to the venue of the primary election to vote for him.
However, in a fresh turn of events, Elliot said in another video that he has not withdrawn from the race for the Assembly, and would appeal the outcome of the primary election.
See the video.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly primary election in Surulere Constituency I of Lagos State.
Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday after participating in the primary election at Ward G2 (Adeniran Ogunsanya Ward 5), situated at Alaka Housing Estate, Surulere, Lagos, Gbajabiamila described the exercise as fair, peaceful and orderly.
He expressed happiness with the conduct of the primaries, and commended party members for their conduct during the exercise.