The Director-General of the campaign organisation of Lagos lawmaker Desmond Elliot, Bless Koye, has withdrawn his support for the legislator's bid in the Lagos State House of Assembly and declared support for All Progressives Congress (APC) aspirant Barakat Odunuga-Bakare.
Koye made the declaration in a viral video circulating online, where he announced his decision to leave what he described as the “Desmond group” for the “Barakat group.” “I’ll decamp from Desmond group to Barakat group,” he said in the video.
His announcement signals a possible crack within the political structure backing Elliot, who currently represents Surulere Constituency I and is reportedly seeking a third term in the Lagos Assembly.
This development comes after the Nollywood actor tendered an apology to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, saying any friction between them may have arisen from political misunderstandings. Elliot made the remarks during an appearance on TVC’s Your View on Friday, where he stressed that there was no intention to offend and reaffirmed his commitment to party unity and constituency development.
Elliot said he entered politics under Gbajabiamila’s guidance, whom he described as his “egbon”, adding that misunderstandings may have contributed to past disagreements. “I’m not saying, oh, yes, media will come out, oh yes, Desmond begs again. Yes, because he’s my egbon. And I grew up learning everything I knew in politics through him,” he said.
He added that political relationships are not immune to mistakes. Gbajabiamila had earlier narrated how he almost lost his job due to Elliot’s involvement in the Lagos Assembly saga. “He is part of the people causing problems in the Lagos Assembly. I am telling you from intelligence that he was part of them. Go and tell him to retrace his steps,” Gbajabiamila said Tinubu told him.
However, he said he told the president that the lawmaker wasn’t part of them, although he had not spoken with Desmond about it to know if he was part of it. “I just said he wasn’t,” the CoS said. Gbajabiamila said he called Elliot, telling him that if he was part of the people, he should get out of there. Unfortunately, “he (Elliot) started cutting corners.”
