The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Action Peoples Party (APP) chapters in Lagos State have rejected the results of Saturday’s council election, claiming that they do not accurately represent the wishes of the local populace. On Sunday, representatives from both parties spoke.
According to the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), the All Progressives Congress won 375 out of 376 councillorship seats and all 57 chairmanship seats in Saturday’s council election.
In response, PDP Deputy Chairman (Lagos West), Sunday Olaifa, stated in an interview that the ruling party did not win as declared and that the election results were rigged in favor of the APC.
“The PDP in Lagos State rejects in totality the outcome of July 12 council elections in the state” Mr. Olaifa stated. ” It is nothing but a mockery of democracy going by the manipulations and scenes of inducement of voters that we saw. For a party that has been in power for over 20 years under various names to depend on rigging before winning a local government election, shows the party is already rejected. APC didn’t win that election. The election didn’t hold in many polling units and results were written. For instance, at Ajao Estate of Isolo LCDAs, out of 36 polling units, till the close of the election, LASIEC officers were not in about 22 polling units. This happened in a few other areas.”
Mr. Olaifa claimed that the election did not meet established democratic standards, pointing out that the election’s preliminaries were flawed and that many candidates were not cleared.
Given the “true outcome” of the council polls, the PDP chieftain predicted that the ruling party would lose the general elections in 2027.
Similarly, LASIEC’s disenfranchisement of certain candidates who were legitimately nominated by their political parties was deemed unnecessary by APP Chairman Abiola Adeyemi. Mrs. Adeyemi urged the commission to start over, saying the recently concluded election was not better than earlier attempts in any way.
“This election is not free, fair and credible by any standard,” she said.
” It is the worst election ever conducted in Lagos State. Many candidates were not screened and their candidacy not validated by LASIEC for different flimsy reasons even after those candidates were duly nominated by their political parties. How can an election where many candidates were disqualified by the umpire for no just cause and party logo missing on the ballot be regarded as credible. We complained but the commission turned deaf ears to appeals to accept our candidates. Our logo, APP logo, was not even on the ballot paper in Badagry. LASIEC officers even came late to many polling units”
She claims that the way the election was conducted disappointed a lot of stakeholders, particularly the political parties.
Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (retd), the chairman of LASIEC, acknowledged on Sunday that logistical problems delayed the arrival of officials and election supplies in some locations, but they were promptly resolved.
