Lagos LG elections: APC sweeps all 57 chairmanship seats

THE much anticipated official results of last Saturday’s local government elections in Lagos State has been declared by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), with the All Progressives Congress (APC) claiming all available 57 chairmanship seats.

The commission in a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs, Mr Oladapo Olatunde, and made available to Tribune Online, declared that all the 20 LG and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) chairmanship end vice-chairmanship positions were lopsidedly won by the ruling APC, with just a trickle of slots won by opposition parties in the councillorship position.

According to the statement, a total of 12 political parties participated in the elections, where results, as announced by returning officers at each of the ward’s collation centres and LG/LCDA’s collation centres, showed APC to have won all the 57 Chairmanship seats while it also won 369 Councillorship seats.

It was also disclosed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won four councillorship seats while Accord won three councillorship seats.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of LASIEC, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, has attributed the “success” of the elections to God’s help and the dedication of all stakeholders in the Lagos exercise, including traditional rulers, security agents as well as the media.

Mrs Philips also pointed out that in fulfilment of her pledge at different fora prior to the day of the elections that the commission would provide a level playing field, the commission worked tirelessly to guarantee fairness and justice for all the political parties and their candidates.

She also expressed satisfaction at the “spirit of comraderies and brotherhood” displayed by the agents of political parties at the different polling units where she and members of the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FOSIECON) monitored the elections.

“This is the right way to go if we really desire development and growth in the various communities of the State,” she said.

While admitting that voting started late in some polling units, the chairman attributed this to the early morning downpour which she said was beyond the control of the commission.

She added that the early morning downpour hindered the deployment of both the human and material resources required for the conduct of the elections in some areas and naturally slowed down the pace at which the commission would have loved to move.

Hon. Justice Phillips further explained that the flooding experienced around some polling units as a result of the rain compounded the challenge, as some polling units had to be relocated to guarantee the safety of the electorate, polling officials and the materials for the elections.

The Chairman congratulated the winners in the elections on their victory. She also urged them to display magnanimity in victory and regard their success at the polls as the will of God.

She also counselled the unsuccessful candidates to demonstrate the spirit of good sportsmanship and patiently look forward to another opportunity in the future.

She pledged the commitment of the commission towards ensuring continuous improvement in the electoral process at the Local Government level of the state.

Pursuant to the Local Government Elections Tribunal Law Cap L75 (Laws of Lagos State, 2004), the Chairman stated that any political party that had any grievances should forward such to the Elections Petitions Tribunal as the commission had no power to settle any disputes arising from the conduct of the elections.