Hon. Desmond Elliot, Nollywood actor-turned-lawmaker and three-term member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Surulere Constituency I, withdrew from the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, ending his bid for a fourth term.
The withdrawal was announced at the APC primary venue at the Paddington Mini Stadium, Western Avenue, Lagos, amid rising tension within the party’s Surulere structure and growing opposition to his re-election.
Elliot had insisted a day earlier, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, that he would remain in the race and had not been pressured to step down.
In the buildup, he alleged intimidation and claimed some supporters were pressured or discouraged from backing him, while also raising concerns over the withdrawal of his security details.
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The race had increasingly shifted in favour of Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, a former Lagos State Special Adviser on Housing, who reportedly enjoyed strong backing within the local APC hierarchy.
The contest was further shaped by lingering fallout from the 2025 attempted impeachment of Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, which deepened internal divisions.
Elliot, first elected in 2015, remains one of the most recognisable figures in the Lagos Assembly, but also a polarising one following the 2020 EndSARS backlash.
His withdrawal today, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, redraws the political map in Surulere and ends his immediate fourth-term ambition.