Tinubu Blocks Desmond Elliot’s Fourth Term Bid as APC Stakeholders Back Female Candidate

Desmond Elliot stood on national television and begged. The Nollywood actor turned lawmaker pleaded with his political godfather Femi Gbajabiamila, calling him “my daddy” and apologizing for unspecified offenses. It was a moment that laid bare how Nigerian politics really works.

Elliot’s fourth-term bid to represent Surulere Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly has hit a wall. President Tinubu reportedly declined repeated appeals to back the actor-politician, choosing instead to respect the wishes of local APC stakeholders who are supporting a new female candidate, Barrister Barakat Odunuga-Bakare.

The drama unfolded over weeks but reached its peak during Elliot’s appearance on TVC’s Your View programme. Watching a three-term lawmaker publicly apologize to his godfather on national television felt less like politics and more like a family dispute aired in front of millions.

The Godfather Problem

Gbajabiamila, the President’s Chief of Staff and Elliot’s longtime political patron, has made his position clear. At a stakeholders’ meeting in Surulere, he revealed that President Tinubu once summoned him during the crisis involving former Lagos Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa’s impeachment.

According to Gbajabiamila, intelligence reports linked Elliot to the anti-Obasa plot. The President confronted him about it. Gbajabiamila says he defended Elliot and instructed him to publicly distance himself from the impeachment move. Elliot never did.

That disclosure was politically fatal. In Lagos APC, when your godfather speaks, the party listens. When your godfather says you’ve fallen out of favor, the party structures move on. Elliot learned this the hard way.

Tinubu’s Decision

Sources say multiple influential figures approached the President on Elliot’s behalf. A retired general. His wife. A senator. A serving minister. An ally of the President. All lobbied for Elliot to get the nod for a fourth term.

Tinubu reportedly refused. “If the people who carried Desmond for 12 years can no longer defend him, that says everything about the boy’s character and performance,” the President was quoted as saying. He insisted on respecting internal democracy and the wishes of Surulere APC stakeholders.

Whether this represents genuine commitment to internal party democracy or simply a decision to cut ties with a liability depends on your perspective. What’s clear is that Elliot’s political survival now rests on whether he can win without the machinery that brought him to power in the first place.

Twelve Years in Office

Elliot has represented Surulere 1 since 2015. He won three consecutive elections under the APC banner. His celebrity status helped, but celebrity alone doesn’t win elections in Lagos. You need structure. You need godfathers. You need Gbajabiamila.

Now those structures are backing someone else. Odunuga-Bakare, the immediate past Lagos Special Adviser on Housing, represents a push for gender inclusion in politics. She has the stakeholder support Elliot once enjoyed.

Critics point to limited visible development after 12 years. Social media has been unkind, with users mocking a makeshift wooden bridge project associated with Elliot as symbolic of poor representation. The actor-politician’s legislative scorecard hasn’t silenced his doubters.

What Happens Next

The APC primary will determine whether Elliot can survive without his godfather’s backing. If he loses, it reinforces the feudal nature of Nigerian politics where elected officials answer to kingmakers, not voters. If he wins, it suggests grassroots popularity can still challenge entrenched structures.

Elliot says his experience justifies another term. He argues that emerging as a principal officer in the Assembly would bring more benefits to Surulere. But many constituents appear unconvinced. There’s growing fatigue with politicians who refuse to leave the stage.

The Surulere drama has become a case study in how godfatherism builds politicians and how it consumes them. Elliot benefited from the system. Now the same system threatens to end his political career.

His “I am sorry daddy” moment goes beyond personal embarrassment. It shows how even elected lawmakers become politically helpless when abandoned by the structures that created them. That’s the tragedy of godfather politics. It creates dependency, not independent leadership.

Sources: TheCable, NaijaNews, Vanguard, OpinionNigeria