Celebrities That Ran For Political Positions In The Just Concluded General Election – Top 8 Celebrities That Ran As Candidates In The Election

• Tonto Steps Down, Funke Loses, Desmond Elliot Beats Olumide, 4 More Celebrities Who Partook in 2023 Elections
• Nigeria’s 2023 general elections experienced the highest influx of celebrities actively participating in the country’s electoral process
• We saw the likes of Tonto Dikeh, Caroline Danjuma, Funke Akindele, Femi Branch and many more buy party tickets and contest to take active leadership roles across the nation
• Olumide Oworu is one of the new faces from Nollywood that stormed the Lagos political space to challenge his senior colleague, Desmond Elliot, for the Surulere House of Assembly position

This article has compiled a list of Nigerian celebrities who took part in the elections and the outcome of their contest

The 2023 general elections in Nigeria witnessed a surge of celebrities actively buying party forms and joining the political scene to contest elective positions to help change the country’s direction.

Many celebrities like Tonto Dikeh, Funke Akindele, Caroline Danjuma, and Olumide Oworu, who participated in the 2023 elections, received tremendous applause and public support after declaring their candidacy for showing interest in politics.

However, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission’s results, only a small number performed exceptionally well in the voting booth (INEC).

This article has highlighted eight celebrities who contested political positions in the 2023 general elections and how well they fared.

1. Caroline Danjuma, African Action Congress (AAC)

In Akwa-Ibom, where actress and reality TV star Caroline Danjuma ran for deputy governor, Umo Eno of the Peoples Democratic Party won the election, according to the results announced by INEC.

The movie star, Iboro Otu, who ran for office alongside her principal on the African Action Congress (AAC) platform, finished in a dismal sixth place.

The PDP candidate Umo Eno received the most votes, followed by Albert Bassey of the Young Progressive Party and Akanimo Udofia of the APC.

2. Tonto Dikeh, African Democratic Congress (ADC)

One more ace Tonto Dikeh was a Nollywood actress whose involvement in the 2023 elections generated a lot of excitement.

After announcing that they would be running for governor and deputy governor, respectively, in the Rivers state election, Tonto Dikeh and her principal Tonte Ibraye sparked a lot of optimism.

When she and her principal announced that they were stepping down for the APC candidate, Tonye Cole, the movie star dashed fans’ hopes of voting for her.

3. Banky W, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

Bankole Wellington, a well-known performer for the PDP, ran for office in the 2023 elections as another well-known candidate.

But like many of his other colleagues, he fell short. This is his second attempt to run for a seat in the Federal House of Representatives on behalf of the Eti-Osa constituency.

The Labour Party’s Thaddeus Attah won the seat, with Banky W coming in second.

4. Desmond Elliot, All Progressives Congress (APC)

Only actor Desmond Elliot of the group serves in office and is running for re-election.

However, Desmond was given a run for his money in the recently-concluded election when a younger Nollywood colleague, Labour Party candidate Olumide Oworu, opposed him.

Nevertheless, among his colleagues who voted in the 2023 elections, the Lagos state legislator is the only notable person who has ever won an election.

5. Olumide Oworu, Labour Party (LP)

young and young-looking Olumide Oworu, a Nollywood actor, is a rising star in both Nigeria’s political arena and the film industry. Weeks before the presidential election, Olumide Oworu declared that he would run for office.

He competed against Desmond Elliot, a senior colleague, for the Surulere constituency seat in the Lagos state House of Assembly.

Olumide was later found to be absent from the ballot, though. The young actor was not the Bode Adebayo who was running for the Surulere constituency 1 on the LP ballot.

6. Tuoyo Ideh, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)

Tuoyo Ideh is a different young public figure who ran for office in the 2023 elections. The reality TV star ran unsuccessfully for the Warri Federal constituency seat in the House of Representatives.

7. Funke Akindele, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

Funke Akindele, one of the biggest Nollywood stars, ran for office in the most recent election. For the Lagos State gubernatorial elections, she was the PDP’s deputy candidate for governor.

When this article was published, INEC had not yet declared the winners of Funke’s party in any of the 19 local government areas.

The Labour Party won just one LGA, while the APC won 18 of them. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, aka Jandor, and Funke Akindele’s principal lost.

8. Femi Branch, National Rescue Movement (NRM)

As a member of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) political party, veteran Nollywood actor Femi Branch ran as Tofunmi Ogunronbi’s running mate for governor of Ogun State.

The party of Femi Branch finished a far-off 12th in the governor of Ogun state elections. It was a blowout.