Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon has apologized to a Lagos House of Representatives-elect, Thaddeus Attah, for questioning the his qualifications and political pedigree.
Attah, who emerged as the winner of the Eti-Osa Federal Constituency election in the recently concluded National Assembly election on 25th February ran under the platform of the Labour Party.
He surprisingly defeated singer Olubankole Wellington popularly known as Banky W, who’s a member of the People’s Democratic Party.
The Labour Party’s candidate won with 24,075 votes, while Banky W, got 18,666 votes, and incumbent Babajide Obanikoro of the All-Progressives Congress had 16,901 votes.
But following the backlash he received from colleagues in Nollywood, Okanlawon in a video posted on his Instagram page on Friday apologized to Attah for the letter which he said he regretted writing.
He said, “In the early hours of today, and in the spirit of the season, I wrote an open letter addressed to the House of Representative-elect of the Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Mr. Thaddeus Attah. Now I admit, I could have chosen better words. I could have not allowed the frustrations that I’ve felt about these past few weeks to affect the message that I was trying to pass across.
“And so, I apologize to Mr Attah. I apologize to anybody else who must have felt that I was overreaching.”
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Meanwhile, the actor had earlier in an open letter shared via his Instagram page today, expressed disappointment after Banky W lost the election while requesting an audience with Attah, to know his plans for the constituency.
The letter read in part, “Mr. Attah, same as with a lot of Lagosians, I only first heard of you when you were announced as the winner a few days ago.
“Since that time I have made a significant effort to find out as much as possible about our newly elected federal HOR candidate. To my surprise, my quest for answers left me even more puzzled as to who you really are as well as what your qualifications, past precedents, and plans are for the people of Eti-Osa.
“With little or no online presence, and for someone that overthrew both an incumbent and a public figure, I am yet to find any indications of your campaign or manifesto. It would therefore be a great pleasure if you Sir will do me the honour of accepting an invitation to either join me online for a live Instagram conversation this weekend to address concerns and respond to questions many others like myself may have.”
However, colleagues of the actor and fans have criticized him for his demand, with many accusing him of being condescending towards the politician.
