Ajegunle Residents Disrupt Council Polls In Lagos

Residents of Onibaba Street in Ajegunle, Lagos on Saturday stopped election conduct in the area following alleged shortage of ballot papers.

Ajegunle, aka Jungle City, is in the Ajeromi Ifelodun council area of Lagos State.

Lagos State held elections into the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas of the state.

A total of 28 political parties participated in the election in which 5000 candidates contested for 57 chairmanship seats and 376 councillorship positions in the state.

The News Agency Nigeria (NAN) reports that as at 11:30a.m., voting had yet to start in Polling Unit 0031501, Ward C located on the street.

Also, in Polling Units 52 and 27 in the same Ward, the residents protested alleged provision of a wrong voters’ register by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).

A resident of Onibaba Street, Mr Segun Abiodun, told NAN that the residents stopped the polls to express their dissatisfaction.

“We have 678 registered voters on this street but they brought 100 ballot papers, 50 for chairmanship and councillorship elections each. It is deliberate,’’ he said.

Another resident, Mr Christian Ekenna, also made the same allegation.

He claimed that the commission intended to disenfranchise the residents to the advantage of a particular political party.

“We are wiser now,’’ Ekenna told NAN.

Reacting, Mr Musbau Oyefeso, LASIEC Commissioner in charge of Operations and Logistics, said that the allegation of inadequate ballot papers was false.

Oyefeso told NAN, however, that the commission would bring more election materials on demand.

”Our judgement is based on the turnout for the April general elections. We don’t want to waste the materials,” he said.

Oyefeso gave the assurance that LASIEC would extend voting time in polling units where there was a mix up in voters’ register.

NAN reports, however, that the election was peaceful and the turnout can be judged as average in most parts of the state.