LAGOS, NIGERIA: The All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly primary election for Surulere Constituency I descended into controversy on Wednesday as incumbent lawmaker Desmond Elliott withdrew from the race, citing the alleged intimidation and exclusion of his supporters.

The development stands in stark contrast to assessments by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, who characterized the exercise as peaceful, transparent, and orderly.

Conflicting Accounts of the Primary Election

Elliott, a prominent actor-turned-politician seeking a fourth term in the Lagos State House of Assembly, announced his withdrawal at the Paddington Mini Stadium on Western Avenue, the primary's central venue.

According to Elliott, electoral officials repeatedly ignored his requests to grant his supporters access to the voting arena.

"In all zones, they’ve been intimidating and stopping us," Elliott stated shortly before exiting. "I want to officially announce my withdrawal from this particular race. This is my ward. If you go outside, those are my people outside."

Following the announcement, Elliott’s supporters staged a peaceful protest before leaving the venue alongside the lawmaker.

Conversely, Femi Gbajabiamila, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, offered a highly positive assessment of the exercise after casting his vote at Ward G2 (Adeniran Ogunsanya Ward 5) in the Alaka Housing Estate.

"When I see peaceful, fair, credible, orderly elections, I am always very happy. And that is exactly what I have seen today," Gbajabiamila told journalists. He added that internal feedback indicated a similarly smooth process across all other wards within the constituency, noting that voter turnout was impressively high for a primary election.

Internal Party Dynamics

The primary follows weeks of reported friction between Gbajabiamila and Elliott. In this contest, Elliott faced a stiff challenge from Mrs. Barakat Odunuga-Bakare, a female aspirant backed by both the party leadership and the Chief of Staff.

Despite Elliott's abrupt exit and the subsequent protest, local party leadership maintained that the election was a success. Mr. Ekundayo Decker, Chairman of the Leaders Forum in Ward G2, described the proceedings as a demonstration of robust internal democracy.

"Well, this is a pure democratic process. We have seen that the numbers are more and the voting went fine. There was no fight, there was nothing, no problem, nothing," Decker told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He further urged all aspirants and their backers to display sportsmanship and accept the final outcome of the primary in good faith.

Surulere Constituency I had been flagged by observers as a critical flashpoint ahead of Wednesday's nationwide APC internal polls.