Voter apathy, late arrival of materials mar Lagos council poll

Published 21 hours ago• 4 minute read

Voting is ongoing across Lagos State in the council election.

The election is taking place in twenty local government areas and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs).

The election started late in most part of the state with official of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) officials not in sight several locations.

At St. Stephen School on Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos Island, Units 006 and 007 saw early activity, with officials on site and voting materials in place.

This location is of particular interest as Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is registered to vote at Ward 006, which has 634 registered voters. Ward 007 holds 667.

At other strategic points such as PU 008, Ward F in Iyalla, Ikeja, officials were observed preparing materials as scheduled.

Despite the early start in some areas, multiple polling units experienced setbacks.

In Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, presiding officers and election staff were delayed due to an insufficient number of vehicles allocated for transport.

Though arrangements were reportedly made, the lack of adequate logistics impeded smooth deployment.

At Alausa PU22, LASIEC officials arrived at 8:20am., attributing their lateness to sorting issues and logistical bottlenecks.

Voting commenced at Elizabeth Fowler Memorial High School in Surulere PU 014 where the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, is expected to vote.

As of 9:01am, accreditation was ongoing with security presence on site.

Voters, however, turned out in small numbers.

Traffic ground to a halt around the Berger axis of Lagos on Saturday morning as security operatives blocked major entry points into the city ahead of the local government elections.

By 7:32am, dozens of commuters were left stranded, and several vehicles were turned away at the usually busy junction, according to observations by our correspondent on the ground.

Earlier government’s restriction has been adjusted to begin from 6.00am instead of 3.00am, to pave room for some flexibility for early morning movement.

Elsewhere, youth activity around some polling units hinted at apathy, especially along Jubril Martins Street in Surulere, where as usual, football matches were underway instead of civic participation.

In Okota voting started late with voting starting at about 11am in several polling units. Youth were seen playing football on the streets in the community.

Residents who spoke to BusinessDay in Alimosho, said they refused to participate because the process was not transparent.

“Why should I vote when It is APC that would win, I am resting in my house”, Emeka Sunday, a trader said.

Tope Amowu, a banker called for the reforms in the conduct of council election process across the country.

” This process is a mockey of our democracy, the officials came here 11am, what kind of thing is that. They even know who would win, so why bothering us”, he said.

Speaking on the exercise, a former member of House of Representatives in Oshodi-Isolo, Ganiyu Johnson decries the poor turnout of voters, he said the election may not reflect the strength of the All Progresssives Congress in Lagos State.

Johnson however commended LASEIC, security agencies for their efforts, noting that despite late arrival of materials the election has been peaceful.

On speculation in sone quarters that the voters don’t trust the process, he said: “Nigerians won’t trust the process if our own internal democracy is faulty. They need to have confidence to participate.

“The state just passed an electoral law . They can draw their strength from that law. Let’s see what will happen in subsequent elections.

On reports on lateness by LASEIC to set up at the appropriate time which is supposed to be 8sm, the former lawmaker said: “There is still room for improvements. The commission should work on the issue of logistics. A lot of people were out to vote but LASEIC officials were not on ground”.

“Some people went back to their homes. Even in my polling unit they were there at some minutes passed 11am. You can imagine that they were supposed to set up at 8am and at 12am they were not there”.

Similarly, former APC chairman in Lagos State, Henry Ajomale, told BusinessDay said despite the late arrival of materials, the election was peaceful across Okota.

Ajomale lamented voter apathy seen in the council election and called for converted effort by the state and federal government to check the trend.

“The election is peaceful as you can see, yes people are not coming out, it is normal and not new. You can see that here in Okota there is orderly without violence.

“Nigerians must realise that the LG election is crucial”, Ajomale said.