A coalition of opposition political parties in Lagos State has called for the immediate cancellation of the recently concluded Local Government Elections, citing massive irregularities, electoral malpractice, and alleged bias by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
At a joint press conference held in Lagos on Tuesday, leaders of the Labour Party (LP), Young Progressives Party (YPP), African Action Congress (AAC), Action People’s Congress (APP), and Accord Party condemned the election as a “daylight robbery” and a “systematic assault on democracy.”
Pastor Dayo Ekong, Chairperson of the Lagos State Labour Party, whose address was delivered by her deputy, Mr. Olasupo Ajayi, described the July 12 exercise as “a premeditated charade meticulously executed to impose the ruling party’s will.”
“We utterly reject the fraudulent results declared by LASIEC. The Labour Party will not allow this daylight robbery to go unchallenged. We are compiling evidence and will pursue every legal and constitutional avenue to ensure justice is served,” she said.
Ekong further alleged the absence of critical voting materials — including ballot papers, result sheets, and ballot boxes — in several LGAs, adding that LASIEC’s conduct had stripped the election of any legitimacy.
Echoing similar concerns, Mr. Olusegun Mobolaji of the YPP and former Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Lagos, noted that over 100 opposition candidates were disenfranchised due to LASIEC’s “rigid and flawed” processes. He said party logos, including that of the YPP, LP, and APP, were missing from ballot papers in several areas, while agent tags were issued just hours before the election.
“It wasn’t an election — it was an ambush,” Mobolaji declared. “From ballot box snatching to the relocation of polling units and mysterious result collation, the process violated all standards of a credible election.”
Mrs. Abiola Adeyemi, APP State Chairperson and IPAC Secretary, recounted a near-violent incident in Badagry where she was allegedly attacked by political thugs after protesting the omission of her party’s logo.
Accord Party’s State Chairman, Mr. Dele Oladeji, added that opposition parties were not just contesting against the APC, but against LASIEC itself.
“We were blindfolded heading into the election. LASIEC acted as both referee and player — clearly in favour of the APC,” he said. “No result sheets were shown to party agents. Yet winners were declared without transparency.”
Despite widespread criticism, LASIEC announced that the APC had won all 57 chairmanship positions and 375 out of 376 councillorship seats.
Reacting to the outcome, the APC’s State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Seye Oladejo, thanked voters and said the results reflected the will of Lagos residents.
However, the opposition bloc insists that the results must be nullified, vowing to seek redress in court and at electoral tribunals.
“We will not relent,” Ekong concluded. “This fight is not just for our parties — it is for democracy in Lagos State.”
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