List of Nigerian Celebrities Running For 2023 Elections

Nigerian actors, actresses, musicians, and other prominent figures have often charged youths to get involved in politics, and in 2023, they take the lead.

The Nigerian political system is beginning to have more celebrity presence and this is a bold step as opposed to the norm. Over the years, more celebrities have either dropped their career for politics or merged them gracefully. In 2023 however, Nollywood actors and other popular personalities are set to run for the elections.

In this article, RNN provides the list of Nigerian celebrities running for 2023 elections. Before we delve into that, let’s see 5 celebrities who have ventured into politics over the years.

Nigerian Celebrities in Politics

1. Desmond Elliot

Nollywood actor, Desmond Elliot won the Surulere Constituency 1 seat in April 2015 and was nominated for the second term. He won the ticket for a third term in 2023 unopposedly.

Elliot represents the All Progressive Congress (APC) political party.

2.  Kate Henshaw

Ace Nollywood actress, Kate Henshaw ventured into politics in 2014 as a House of Representative aspirant. In the same year, she launched her campaign website declaring her ambition to represent Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Federal constituency under the PDP.

She was however appointed as Special Adviser Liason, Lagos by the then Governor since she lost the primaries to Rt. Hon Essien Ayi.

3. Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD)

Nollywood Legend, Richard Mofe-Damijo was the Special Adviser of Culture and Tourism to the then Governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2008. One year later, he became the commissioner for Culture and Tourism. His tenure lapsed in 2015.

4. Hilda Dokubo

Actress, Hilda Dokubo is a Nigerian celebrity known to be among the first set of actors to venture into politics.

In the early 2000s, she was appointed as Special Adviser on Youth Affairs to former Rivers state governor, Peter Odili.

5. Mercy Johnson

Nollywood’s star actress, Mercy Johnson was appointed in 2017 as the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Kogi State governor on entertainment, arts, and culture.

There are more Nigerian celebrities who have chosen the way of politics, however, we will go ahead and highlight the list of Nigerian celebrities running for 2023 elections.

Nigerian Celebrities Running for 2023 Elections

Here’s a list of Nigerian celebrities running for 2023 elections in different offices.

1. Funke Akindele

One of Nollywood’s finest, Funke Akindele was recently unveiled as the PDP Deputy-Governor candidate in Lagos State.

As expected, this came as a shock to many as the actress seemed focused on her acting career and has little or no political background.

In an Instagram video, however, Funke revealed that her acting career has been “necessarily” put on hold to enable her focus on politics.

2. Tonto Dikeh

Tonto Dikeh is another Nollywood actress with political ambition. She was recently unveiled as the running mate of Rivers State Governorship Candidate, Tonte Ibraye under the umbrella of the African Democratic Party (ADP).

Dikeh might just be the next Rivers State Deputy-Governor if ADP wins the elections.

3. Banky W

After losing to APC in the 2019 House of Representative elections for the Eti-Osa constituency, Nigerian musician, Banky W is set to contest again.

He won the PDP primary ticket for the same constituency in the Federal House of Representatives ahead of the 2023 general election.

In 2019, he contested under the Modern Democratic Party (MDP).

4. Odi Okojie

Real Estate entrepreneur cum-politician, Odi Okojie is the husband of popular Nigerian Actress, Mercy Johnson.

He recently won the All Progressives Congress ticket for a House of Representatives seat for Edo State.

Okojie is set to represent Esan North East/ South East federal constituency if he wins at the 2023 general elections.

5. Ned Nwoko

Businessman and politician, Ned Nwoko will contest at the 2023 general elections as a PDP senatorial candidate for Delta North district.

Ned Nwoko is not just known as a businessman, but also as husband to popular Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels.

6. Desmond Elliott

As mentioned earlier, Actor-cum-politician, Desmond Elliott has unopposedly secured an APC ticket to represent the Surulere Constituency 1, as a member of the House of Representatives. He will equally be contesting at the 2023 general elections for the office he currently holds.

Nigerian Celebrities Running for 2023 Elections Summary

There may be more celebrities running for the 2023 elections but these are the ones that have been announced for now. From social media sections, you can tell that many youths and fellow celebrities are happy with this movement as they celebrate with joyful comments are massive reposts.

While we wait to see if there’ll be more “shocks” on the way, here’s a recap of the list of Nigerian celebrities running for 2023 elections.

1. Funke Akindele
2. Tonto Dikeh
3. Banky W
4. Odi Okojie
5. Ned Nwoko