Nollywood star, Desmond Elliot wins re-election
The Nigerian actor, Desmond Elliot has won re-election to Lagos Assembly under the banner of All Progressives Congress (APC), for the Surulere1 state Constituency during a recent election in Lagos State.
According to election Returning Officer for the constituency, Dr Bolajoko Dixon-Ogbechi, the Nollywood star emerged winner with 15,357 votes, while Mr Benjamin Olasunkanmi, a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 3,628 votes.
She declared: “That Desmond Olusola Elliot of APC having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared a winner and is returned elected.”
According to her, Mr Shitta-Bey Oluwarotimi of Alliance for Democracy (AD) came third with 116 votes, Mr Dawodu Oluwaseyi of Accord Party came fourth with 65 votes while Mr Makanjuola Olaseni of YP came fifth with 59 votes.
Dixon-Ogbechi stated that the total number of registered voters in the constituency was 134,939. However, the accredited voters comprised 20,340, while the valid votes were 19,357 and the total number of rejected votes were 973.
A few days to the election, Elliot had whipped up a storm, after reports emerged that he commissioned a toilet in his constituency. An achievement downplayed by many people.
It has been the subject of controversy on social media after he commissioned a biofil toilet in his area, with numerous Twitter users pillorying him for celebrating a project they considered ordinary.
The public convenience is a bio-fuel toilet in Love Garden field, Surulere, Lagos. Although it was facilitated by Elliot, it was financed and donated by Ladi Lawanson, the Commissioner for Transportation.
During the inauguration, Elliot said, “This isn’t just a building neither is it just a toilet but one that converts waste to manure, so nothing is wasted as we keep the environment clean. Sincere thanks and gratitude goes to Ladi Lawanson for making the bio-fuel toilet a reality. Thanks to the Australian Government for sponsoring the project.”
However, Elliot, who is a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, was accused of doing too little for his constituents as his followers asked him if constructing toilets was the best he could do in his four years in office.
Some of his followers said that Elliot’s action showed that youths might not necessarily perform better than the older politicians when voted into office.
In his Instagram message, Elliot sent a thank you message to a long list of people who have been influential in his election victory, including the APC National Leader – Ashiwaju Bola Tinubu and Nigeria Vice President – Professor Yemi Osinbajo.