PDP, LP, SDP fault Lagos election process

….allege widespread irregularities 

…..as APC wins Ikosi-Ejirin LCDA 

Opposition parties have faulted the conduct of the local government elections held on Saturday in Lagos State, alleging widespread irregularities, voter suppression, and ballot box stuffing.

The Secretary of the Labour Party in the state, Sam Okpala, described the exercise as a “complete sham,” claiming that elections did not take place in many polling units across the state.

“As far as the Labour Party in Lagos State is concerned, there was no election. The level of malpractices we witnessed today is unprecedented in the history of elections in Nigeria,” he said.

“Where there is a semblance of voting, it’s all about ballot box stuffing and LASIEC staff coming with already thumb-printed ballot papers. The ruling party chieftains also came with thumb-printed ballot papers and stuffed them in the boxes,” he added.

Okpala said LP supporters and agents were prevented from participating in the voting process, with many barred from entering polling units.

Also speaking, the Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, Tai Benedict, accused the ruling APC of manipulating the election process in an attempt to paint a false picture of popularity.

“What the APC did today is not new; we knew this was going to happen because even before the election, they were everywhere trying to force Lagosians to love and accept them. We won’t be surprised if the total number of votes recorded for the APC at the end of the day is more than the total votes that Tinubu scored in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election. We know they will manipulate the outcome,” he said.

Benedict also alleged that already thumb-printed ballot papers were stuffed into ballot boxes in several polling units, noting that the PDP was not expecting the results to reflect the will of the people.

“They want to use this election to lie to people that their party is widely accepted by Nigerians. But the outcome will not be the true reflection of the people’s choice,” he stated.

The Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in the state, Femi Olaniyi, on his part, accused the electoral body of deliberately omitting the party’s name and logo from the ballot papers, thereby shutting the party out of the election.

Olaniyi said, “There was no election in Lagos State today because the ballot paper carried APC and PDP, which we know is dead in Lagos State. And some in Badagry carried APC, PDP and Zenith Labour Party. No other political party. So, there was no election. This is daylight robbery. It is selection and not an election. We are going to address it and take the matter to any court of jurisdiction to address it.”

Meanwhile, in Ikosi-Ejirin LCDA, the Chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wale Ibrahim Anomo was declared winner with total votes of 18,504 by the LG Returning Officer, Adeniji Samuel Adeola.