Barrister Barakat Odunuga-Bakare on Wednesday secured a landslide victory over incumbent lawmaker Desmond Elliot in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for Surulere Constituency I of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Odunuga-Bakare polled 11,385 votes to defeat Elliot, who scored 270 votes across the wards in the constituency, in an exercise that recorded a high turnout of party members.
Results from the various wards showed overwhelming support for Odunuga-Bakare, who is backed by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
At Akinhanmi/Cole Ward, she polled 2,191 votes, while Elliot secured 82 votes. In Yaba/Ojuelegba Ward, Odunuga-Bakare won 980 votes against Elliot’s three votes.
She also dominated at Gbaja Stadium Ward with 523 votes, while Elliot recorded no vote.
However, the lawmaker posted his strongest showing at Shitta/Ogunlana Ward, where he polled 270 votes, defeating Odunuga-Bakare, who secured 169 votes.
At Owolewa Open Field, off Randle Avenue, Odunuga-Bakare garnered 1,956 votes, while Elliot scored 10 votes. In Iponri/Eric Moore Ward, she polled 1,805 votes, with Elliot recording six votes.
Elliot, who has represented Surulere Constituency I since his election in 2015, is seeking to overturn the primary result.
Reacting, the lawmaker said he would appeal the result, alleging that the exercise was marred by violence and irregularities.
He said, “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.
“But the party has also, in its magnanimity, given us an opportunity to appeal…. So, I’m not going to say any more than this, except that we are not accepting this process. I am not withdrawing…But we are appealing the process. We are definitely appealing.”
Elliot alleged that his supporters were intimidated and prevented from participating in the exercise.
“Nobody was killed. But a lot of people were really maimed. There are videos of people going to the hospital,” he said.
“This is just primaries. It is not a do-or-die affair. In different wards, people are being intimidated…”
He added that many of his supporters were allegedly denied access to vote.
“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?”
Despite the allegations, the APC has yet to issue an official response to the complaints raised by the lawmaker.
