Inspite of the Lagos State Independent National Electoral Commission (LASIEC) assurance that the Local Government polls will be hitch-free, the exercises were marred with low turnout of voters and delay in the arrival of electoral officials and materials across the over 13,000 polling units crippled the violence free exercise.
The irregularities experienced during the exercise made the voters to express dissatisfaction over the exercise after the electoral officials arrived at polling units five hours after the exercise had officially kicked off in the state.
They claim that the strategy adopted by LASIEC has further discouraged many voters who had stormed their polling units to cast their votes across the state.
During a visit on Saturday by The Guild correspondent to many councils including Ojodu and Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and Oshodi Local Government Area of the state, the voters were seen waiting for the LASIEC officials at their polling units which were among the over 13,000 created for the exercise.
According to the voters, many has left after waiting for hours without seeing any electoral officials at their polling units in the state.
In Ojodu LCDA, the election scheduled to hold between 8 am and end 3 pm could not start until after 1:30pm, over five hours behind the approved time for the exercise.
In Ikosi-Isheri LCDA, it was gathered that a mild drama ensued as election officials were left stranded.
Our correspondent on the ground to cover the polls observed that presiding officers and election staff as of 9:30 AM were unable to leave for their stations, due to an inadequate number of vehicles to convey them.
It was learnt that the buses provided by LASIEC were not enough to convey all the election officers, as some were seen struggling to get into the few buses.
While others hung on the buses, others were seen trekking to their various polling stations.
In Lagos Island axis where the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, cast his vote, an electoral officer was seen at 9:30 am searching for the polling units were he was deployed by LASIEC.
Also in Shogunle, Oshodi, part of the state, residents were seen waiting anxiously for election officials to arrive so they could vote for their preferred candidates to lead the Oshodi Local Government Council.
At about five polling units, including Egbapeju, Olori, Temidire Government Primary School, and Alhaji Abibatu Street, all located in Shogunle, small crowds of residents gathered, many unsure of what to do next as they patiently awaited the arrival of the ballot boxes.
Many had woken up early to participate in the election, which was scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., but ended up at local food spots buying meals such as rice and stew, akara and pap, and other snacks to pass the time while waiting for election officers.
The venues visited by our correspondent were heavily manned by police officers, who remained on standby in case of any disruption by miscreants or any threat to the peaceful conduct of the election.
A security official who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that he had visited one polling unit and was redirected to another. However, no voters were present at either location, apart from fellow security personnel who had also arrived before 8:00 a.m. to find the venues empty.
According to LASIEC officials, the delays stemmed from a series of logistical errors—ranging from mislabelled materials and mismatched polling codes to fuel shortages and overcrowded staff vehicles.
As learnt, transportation contributed to the chaos that disrupted the exercise across the state.
