Lagos state chapter of Afenifere, the pan Yoruba socio-political Organisation wants the governorship and state House of Assembly elections held in the state to be canceled for alleged irregularities.
The Lagos State leader and chairman of Afenifere, Chief Supo Shonibare, and Otunba Tunde Onakoya, said that the reports they got from polling units showed that the outcome of the polls does not reflect the will of the people of Lagos state.
In a statement, Afenifere called on the Independent National Election Commission, INEC to reschedule elections at polling units where " the process was so blatantly subverted."
According to the statement: “Afenifere has been inundated with reports from its members, Agents, and Observers who were present and/or on duty for the processes of the Election held Saturday, March 18.
“In 13,325 polling units in Lagos State, various acts were observed and widely reported that impugned the integrity of the elections and rendered the results grossly unreliable; these results cannot be described as a reflection of the will of the people of Lagos.
"The only option open to the Independent National Election Commission is to reschedule elections at those polling units where the process was so blatantly subverted by an unholy alliance of subversives, including INEC staff, security agents, and hoodlums.
“Videos of intimidation of voters, either by direct threats or actual violence, and the suppression of votes are rife and viral.
" With the active connivance of some traditional rulers, arbitrary relocation of polling units far away from designated polling areas and the snatching of ballot boxes were also rampant.
" These acts of thuggery were pervasive in at least 11 local government areas. After voting, election materials were snatched at many polling units, and many instances of this were captured on video.
“INEC officials blatantly refused to capture and offload results at polling units on the INEC i-Rev portal. Refusal to capture and offload the results to the iRev portal at the polling units immediately after the announcement of the results was an invitation to political hoodlums, to buy time to observe, disrupt or snatch ballot boxes and destroy the votes at polling units.
"These were at polling units where the ruling party lost or in areas where the Labour Party Presidential candidate had substantial majority votes at the elections conducted on the 25th of February.
“Many of these incidents were captured live on television stations in live broadcasts. A few days before the elections, videos of identifiable individuals and traditional rulers threatening anyone intending not to support APC were trending.
" The intended objective of these acts was to suppress voter turnout. Had the security agencies intervened to halt these unseemly manifestations by demonstrating to the electorate that individuals inciting violence would be held accountable, the voting public would have been reassured of their ability to freely exercise their franchise, but the security agencies kept mute.
“In effect, this gross dereliction of duty suppressed voting. There was therefore a very low turnout in Lagos. This election was even more shambolic in Lagos than the Presidential elections held on the 25th of February.
"All the mischief of electoral malpractices that the amended Electoral Act had sought to cure was therefore rendered nugatory. The massive public funds allotted to INEC to improve the integrity of the processes were money down the drain.
“As of 11.30 pm, no results had reached the State collation center from the various local government collation centers. Even local government areas contiguous to the Mainland Local Government State Office of INEC had not arrived at the State collation center to submit the results of the Wards collated unit.
“With all these botched processes, it is difficult to sustain the illusion of a free and fair election; there must be a rescheduled election.
“We, therefore, call on the Resident Commissioner of INEC in Lagos, to consult with INEC headquarters, to cancel the processes in all the affected polling units in Ibeju-Lekki, Eti- Osa, Surulere, Shomolu, Ikeja, Ifako-Ijaiye, Oshodi- Isolo, Ojo, Amuwo- Odofin, Agege, and Alimosho, and to enable rescheduled elections in these polling units at the earliest possible time, ” Afenifere said.
Politics and Opinion.
Comments