Controversy trails Olumide Oworu’s LP candidature at Lagos assembly poll

Olumide Oworu, the actor, shocked many Nigerians on February 28 when he announced his campaign to unseat Desmond Elliot, the former movie star, from the Surulere 1 constituency seat in the Lagos house of assembly. 

The surprise stemmed from the fact that the actor’s announcement came eight months after the deadline for the submission of nomination forms by politicians contesting for seats at the state houses of assembly — which was August 18, 2022.

Despite the intense campaign and positive reception from youths on social media, the Labour Party (LP), Olumide’s party, lost at the poll to Elliot on Saturday.

Elliot, who contested under the All Progressives Congress (APC), polled 17, 837 votes to defeat Adebayo Bode of the Labour Party (LP) who secured 7,822 votes.

There was, however, controversy on social media after Adebayo’s name was spotted in the result sheet of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), instead of Oworu.

The bone of contention was on the candidature of Oworu; if he is the bonafide candidate representing LP in the Lagos house of assembly election. 

Checks on the commission’s platform also showed that the actor’s name did not make the list of candidates contesting for seats in the Lagos house of assembly. 

When TheCable Lifestyle reached out to Dayo Ekong, the Lagos chairperson of LP, on the matter, she insisted that Oworu is the bonafide candidate of the party in the just concluded election.

Ekong also said the party had written to INEC for a change of name but the correction was not reflected by the commission before the poll.

“We wrote to INEC before the election for a change of name but it wasn’t reflected. Our candidate in the election to the seat at Surulere I constituency is Olumide,” she said.

“Who is Bode? I don’t know that name. We sent a letter to INEC about the issue and we believe it was resolved before the election.”

When she was asked about the letter, she said she cannot access it, adding that the request is impromptu. 

True; Olumide Oworu is not INEC's approved @NgLabour candidate for Surulere.
Reports from @PremiumTimesng and @daily_trust show Oworu was not on INEC'S final list of contestants, but Adebayo Bode is Labour Party's candidate for Surulere 1 Constituency.#NigeriaDecides2023 pic.twitter.com/9CAMlxh8gd

— Dubawa (@dubawaNG) March 19, 2023

Dubawa, a fact-checking hub, had earlier raised the alarm that Oworu’s name wasn’t included on INEC’s final list of contestants.

Oworu is popularly known for his role as ‘Tari’ in the Africa Magic series ‘The Johnsons’.