Despite popularity, Nigerian entertainers fail to clinch political seats

<p>Popularity, they say, is a critical success factor for a politician and her/his party to win elections. But that hasn’t been the case with most Nigerian entertainers who, despite their celebrity status, have continued to suffer embarrassing defeats at various polls across the country.</p>, <p>Prior to the 2023 general elections, some industry heavyweights announced their retirements and sojourn into partisan politics. Among them are Nollywood actresses Funke Akindele and Tonto Dikeh, who were the deputy governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Lagos and Rivers states, respectively.</p>, <p>Others include actor Femi Branch, who was the deputy governorship candidate of the National Rescue Movement in Ogun State; singer Olubankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W, who ran for the Eti-Osa House of Representatives seat under the PDP, and “The Johnsons” star, Olumide Oworu who was the Labour Party candidate for the Surulere Constituency 1 seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly.</p>, <p>DAILY POST observed, unfortunately, that the voyages of Nigerian entertainers into the murky waters of politics haven’t been smooth sailing.</p>, <p>Except for veteran actor-cum-politician, Desmond Elliott, who defeated Oworu, the rest of the pack lost their bids.</p>, <p>Funke Akindele</p>, <p>Akindele was the running mate of the PDP’s gubernatorial candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, aka Jandor, in the just concluded Lagos State governorship election.</p>, <p>Many had high hopes for her and her principal, considering her celebrity status and “street credibility”.</p>, <p>However, all those hopes were dashed when she and her boss finished a distant third (62,449 votes) behind the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC (762,134 votes), and LP candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (312,329 votes).</p>, <p>Days later, the actress deleted all campaign photos from her social media pages.</p>, <p>Banky W</p>, <p>Veteran singer/rapper and record label boss, Olubankole