Actor Olumide Oworu to contest for Reps after 2023 ballot exclusion

Nollywood actor, Olumide Owuru...Photo Credit: IG/ olumide owuru

Nollywood actor Olumide Oworu has declared his intention to contest for a seat in the House of Representatives in the 2027 general elections, after he was excluded from the ballot in his 2023 bid for the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Oworu announced his candidacy for the Surulere I Federal Constituency seat on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

The actor, who contested under the Labour Party in 2023, said his previous experience had strengthened his resolve to participate in governance.

“In 2023, we dared to believe that things could be different. We stepped out, we organized and we proved that the youth of Surulere Constituency 1 are ready for governance driven by conscience,” he wrote.

He said administrative hurdles prevented his name from appearing on the final ballot but insisted that the experience did not mark the end of his political ambition.

“Despite the administrative hurdles that left our names off the final ballot, your resilience showed me that our vision was never a passing phase. Instead, it was the beginning of something much more significant,” he added.

Declaring his 2027 ambition, Oworu said, “That is why I am incredibly proud to declare my candidacy for the House of Representatives (Surulere 1 Federal Constituency) in the 2027 elections under the banner of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).”

He called on residents to support his ambition, saying young people should participate in decisions affecting their future.

“We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while our future is decided by a political class that won’t have to live with the consequences of today’s choices,” he wrote.

In the 2023 election, Oworu sought to represent Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, where he was expected to challenge the incumbent lawmaker, Desmond Elliot.

However, a report by Vanguard at the time said Oworu’s name was absent from the ballot, while Adebayo Bode was listed as the Labour Party candidate on the official declaration of result sheet.

The report said the candidates had been involved in legal disputes that remained unresolved until the build-up to the election.

Oworu is now seeking election to the House of Representatives in 2027 under the APM, the party platform of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who has also declared his presidential ambition.