The Lagos State elections for chairman, vice-chairman, and councillor have officially concluded. As instructed by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), the electoral umpire, voting took place over six hours, from 9 am to 3 pm.
Voting was held in the state’s 37 local council development areas and 20 local government areas. Following the conclusion of voting, LASIEC officials proceeded to the next phase, which involves sorting and tallying the ballots in front of party agents and election observers, as well as a few voters who remained to watch the proceedings.
The recorded votes from the PU level would be sent to the ward level and subsequently to the LASIEC local government offices for final compilation at the LASIEC headquarters located in the state’s Yaba region. Although it was confirmed that fifteen parties ran in the state’s elections, the election was tainted by a low voter turnout.
President Bola Tinubu’s chief of staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, who voted at the nearby PU of Fowler Memorial School, which is also in the Surulere area, bemoaned the low voter turnout and urged more awareness-raising to encourage greater participation in the process for the election of grassroots leaders.
“There is a general low turnout from what I’ve seen”, he said. “Perhaps because people don’t understand fully the importance of local government elections, which is even more important than any other election.
“We need to sensitise our people. We need to educate them about the importance of grassroot government. But so far, it’s peaceful and quiet. It’s free and fair. There are no skirmishes anywhere, and that’s what we all want for any election”
