Desmond Elliot has alleged that he faced intimidation, coercion, and the withdrawal of his security aides ahead of the All Progressives Congress direct primaries in Surulere.

The lawmaker, who currently represents Surulere Constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly, made the claims in a video shared on his X account.

According to Elliot, some party members and loyalists supporting him had also allegedly been targeted because of their affiliation with him.

The former actor further appealed to party leaders to ensure that the primary election in the constituency is conducted peacefully and transparently.

“I want to appreciate the President of this great country and the party leadership for allowing direct primaries to be held across the country. We say thank you so much because this is meant to test the popularity of all the aspirants across the board,” he said. 

The lawmaker, however, alleged that some individuals were attempting to manipulate the process through intimidation and pressure on party members. 

“I want to bring to your notice that intimidation, coercion, arm-twisting and forcing people to follow their own candidate is what exists today in Surulere,” Elliot said. 
 

He further alleged that some APC members were threatened with exclusion from empowerment opportunities if they failed to support a preferred aspirant. 

“Please, this is not done and should not be done. We are all members of the same party,” he said. 
 

Elliot also claimed that some local government workers allegedly lost their jobs because of their association with him politically. 

“We’ve been intimidated so much that a lot of people from the local government have been fired because they follow me. That should not be allowed,” he claimed. 
 

The Surulere lawmaker further accused local government authorities of openly backing another aspirant ahead of the primaries. 

“It is bad enough that the local government already took a side months ago to support a particular aspirant. I didn’t say anything,” he said.