Opposition parties demand cancellation of Lagos LG polls, allege massive irregularities

A coalition of opposition parties in Lagos State has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s local government elections, calling for their immediate cancellation and describing the exercise as a “daylight robbery” and a “state-sponsored assault on democracy.”

At a joint press conference in Lagos, leaders of the Labour Party (LP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), African Action Congress (AAC), Action People’s Congress (APP), Accord Party, and others, condemned the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) over what they called widespread irregularities and disenfranchisement of opposition candidates.

The Lagos State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also joined the call for redress, with its Forum of Local Government Chairmen vowing to challenge the election results in court.

Addressing the media on behalf of the Labour Party, Pastor Dayo Ekong, whose speech was delivered by her deputy Mr. Olasupo Ajayi, described the election as a “systematic state-sponsored rape of democracy.”

She said: “The just-concluded Local Government elections were not an exercise in democratic choice; they were a premeditated, meticulously executed charade designed solely to impose the ruling party’s will upon the people of Lagos.

“We witnessed, and documented, widespread irregularities orchestrated by LASIEC. We utterly reject the fraudulent results declared by LASIEC in the affected LGAs. We hold Justice Bola Ighile personally responsible for this travesty and the complete collapse of LASIEC’s credibility under her watch.

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“Our resolve is unwavering. We are compiling exhaustive evidence of these atrocities. We will explore every legal and constitutional avenue available to challenge this electoral robbery.

“We will not rest until justice is served and the will of the people of Lagos is respected. The Labour Party will not allow this daylight robbery to stand unchallenged.”

Echoing the sentiment, Mr. Olusegun Mobolaji of the YPP criticized the entire electoral process as flawed and poorly managed.

“The process that led to this poll was full of irregularities and anomalies; even the timetable was contradictory, tedious, choky and unbearable for opposition parties. Some parties got nomination forms from LASIEC two days before the election because of some issues—how can we ascribe credibility to such an election?”

In her remarks, Mrs. Abiola Adeyemi, State Chair of the APP and Secretary of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), recounted a troubling incident in Badagry: “I was nearly beaten by alleged APC thugs for complaining over the removal of the APP logo from the ballots in Badagry.”

Mr. Dele Oladeji, Chairman of Accord Party, also voiced strong objections:
“LASIEC acted as election players, not as umpire. We contested against LASIEC. It was a systematic rigging orchestrated before election day.”

The PDP also dismissed the election as a sham. Chief Adegboyega Adegbesan, Forum Chairman and PDP leader in Oshodi-Isolo LGA, declared:

“What occurred on Saturday was no election. It was a charade and a criminal conspiracy against the people’s sovereign will. In PDP strongholds across the state, ballot box stuffing occurred on a massive scale. Pre-thumbprinted ballots were delivered in bags.

“In many areas, election materials arrived late or not at all, and documentation was deliberately incomplete to frustrate PDP supporters and reduce turnout.”

All the parties vowed to take legal and constitutional steps to challenge the conduct and outcome of the election, insisting that the mandate of the people must be protected.

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