Ayoyinka Oni, Chairman of the African Action Congress, AAC, in Lagos State, has accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, of manipulating the recently concluded local government elections in the state.
DAILY POST reports that the July 12 polls saw the APC claim a clean sweep, winning all 20 local government chairmanship positions, all 37 Local Council Development Area, LCDA, chairmanship seats, and 375 councillorship positions. The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, won just one councillor seat.
Oni made the allegations during a News Central Television programme, Inside Lagos Politics – The Fallout of the Local Government Elections, which featured political party leaders, analysts, security officials, and other stakeholders to review the contentious electoral process.
In his remarks, Oni labelled the APC a “ruining party” rather than a ruling party.
“We don’t have a ruling party in Lagos; we have a ruining party,” he said.
He alleged that police officers on election duty were “sleeping and collecting bribes” and demanded the immediate sack of the Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC.
Responding to the allegations, political analyst and civil society advocate, Nelson Ekujumi, advised opposition parties to familiarise themselves with the electoral process and constitutional guidelines. He stressed that better civic education was needed to combat misinformation and encourage meaningful participation in Nigeria’s democratic system.
Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, defended the conduct of security personnel during the polls, describing the exercise as “90 percent successful.”
While admitting there were isolated incidents of malpractice, he maintained that such issues were swiftly addressed.
