Low turnout in Lagos LG poll, late arrival of materials, as Sanwo-Olu, wife cast vote at 11:10am

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his wife voted at exactly 11:10 a.m. on Saturday at Ward E3, Adeniji Adele, Lagos Island, during the ongoing local government election.

The governor was accompanied by the Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (Retd.), along with other dignitaries.

The voting exercise at the polling unit appeared orderly, as officials of LASIEC coordinated the process under the watch of security personnel.

Meanwhile, some residents of Mowo, Igborosun and Ikoga communities in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State have decried the non-arrival of LASIEC officials almost two hours after the official commencement of the council election in the state.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that some of the voters who arrived as early as 8.00 am had to return home after waiting endlessly.

Chief Samuel Amosu, a voter, said he had made a call to the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) office in Badagry, adding that they kept telling them to wait for the officials.

“This is frustrating, I came here around 7.30 am, expecting that the voting will start by 8.00 am but unfortunately, we are still waiting for them.

“We don’t know if they are deliberately frustrating our efforts here in Ikoga.

“As you can see, there is no LASIEC official in any of the polling units as at 10.07 am,” he said.

He called on people not to be deterred by the lateness.

Mrs. Motunrayo Avoseh, a resident of Mowo and voter at Unit 19, Mowo, said that they had to put a call to the LASIEC official and they promised to arrive soon.

NAN reports that some of the electoral officials arrived at about 10:07 am, two hours after commencement of the election.

Speaking, Mr. Toyon Emmanuel, Presiding Officer, 06 Polling Unit, Ikoga, blamed the situation on logistics.

He said the situation was due to late arrival of voting materials at Badagry Local Government Area, where the materials were being distributed.

Emmanuel said that they left the secretariat late, adding that the bad road also contributed to the delay.

NAN reports that security agencies like Police, NSCDC and FRSC were on ground to secure the voting process, even as some voters were seen returning to their polling units.

The Lagos state council election is holding in 20 local government areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state.