Voting materials and electoral officers arrived late at many polling units in Lagos during Saturday’s local government elections.
The chairmanship and councillorship elections were scheduled to start at 8:00 a.m. across all polling units.
However, the elections did not start at 8.00 a.m. in most polling units monitored. Electoral officers and voting materials began to arrive at many polling units after 8:30 a.m.
There were no signs of voting materials or the arrival of electoral officers at Polling Units 030, 031, and 029, located at Unity Nursery and Primary School, Hostel Bus Stop, beside a Mobil filling station in the Egbe-Agodo area, as of 8:00 a.m.
Only an agent of the All Progressives Congress was seen waiting at one of the polling units.
Some voters, who had come out early, left after observing no signs of the election commencing.
At Polling Units 014 on Authority Avenue, 012, and 049, all located at Egbe-Agodo, the situation was the same.
The late arrival of electoral officers was also observed at the seven polling units in Agege.
Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission had announced that electoral materials and officers would be expected to arrive at polling units by 7:00 a.m.
A presiding officer at Agege, Abiola Choice, attributed her late arrival at her polling unit to the late distribution of election materials.
She said, “Even after we got the materials from the registration area centre, there was no vehicle to convey us to the polling units.”
Cornelius Stephen, a 90-year-old voter, expressed disappointment that the electoral officers did not keep to time.
“You can see that it is already 8:00 a.m., yet only security personnel are present here at Agege Primary School, Ward 3,” he said.
At Epe, Eredo, and Ikosi-Ejirin, a heavy downpour in the early hours delayed the arrival of electoral officers and materials.
It also deterred many voters from coming out early. The rain began at about 5:35 a.m.
Deji Agunrege, a resident of Epe, said the rain might discourage, especially the elderly and voters from distant places, from coming out to vote.
At 8:48 a.m., electoral officers had yet to arrive at Polling Unit 021 located at Ohafia Junction, Ago Palace Way, Okota in Oshodi/Isolo LCDA.
Some residents were seen jogging and conversing in groups, while tricycle riders continued to ply the roads.
At Badagry, the late arrival of electoral officers and election materials also characterised the elections at many polling units.
As of 8:48 a.m., electoral officials had yet to arrive at Polling Unit 020 located at Mowo Town Hall. Festac Town in Amuwo Odofin LGA also recorded late arrival of electoral officers and election materials.
The officers and materials had not arrived at polling units in Wards B2, C, and K as of 9:15 a.m. Emmanuel Okigwe, secretary of the Labour Party at Ward C, expressed concern about the lateness.
“We are witnessing a lot of irregularities. Our party was unable to inspect the materials. Even at midnight, they still had not brought them,” he alleged.
A septuagenarian, Akindare Adetifa, also expressed disappointment at the late arrival of electoral officers. He said that, in the past, elections always started early.
Electoral officers and materials were ready in some Egbe/Idimu areas as of 9:00 a.m., but there were no voters.
Some of the polling units monitored were 042 at Modupe Shitta, 04 at Yusuf Olatunji, 05 at Olojo/Holmes, 027 at Banjo, and 016 on Lamina Street, all under Egbe/Idimu Ward 5. A mix-up in the addresses of some polling units caused a delay in the commencement of voting at Egbe-Agodo.
At Polling Unit 051, Oguntoyibo, an electoral officer, who did not want to be named, said his team was unable to set up voting booths because its address was incorrect.
“We are not in the right location. The address we were given belongs to another polling unit, so we couldn’t set up as expected. We have called our supervisor. He is coming, possibly with a bus to take us to our polling unit,” he said.
In many other areas, voting also started at 9:00 a.m.
In Polling Units 040 and 042 at Palace Way, as well as Polling Units 030, 031, and 029 at Unity Nursery and Primary School, and Polling Units 018, 019, and 027 located at Muslim College, all in Agodo Egbe, voting started around 9:00 a.m.
Voters were seen coming one after the other to cast their votes. After voting, most of them left.
On the Lagos Mainland LGA, voters waited for election materials, while electoral officers monitored the situation in many polling units.
As of 9:25 a.m., voters were still gathered at various polling units, awaiting the arrival of the officers and materials.
Accreditation and voting eventually began at 8:50 a.m. and 9:10 a.m. in some locations. Notably, polling units 002, 005, and 007 in Ward E, as well as units 011, 015, and 004 in Ward C, experienced significant delays. Wards F, G, and A also witnessed delayed material distribution.
They also recorded low voter turnout at the time of filing the report. On the other hand, there was a strong turnout at units 008 and 009 in Ward D, as well as in Wards B and I.
Olayiwola Sholagbade, a voter at Ward D, Unit 009, said, “We are still hopeful. Many are indoors watching as events unfold on television and radio.”
In Ikorodu, Folashade-Olabanji-Oba, vice-chairman of Ikorodu LGA, praised voters for their peaceful conduct. Ms Olabanji-Oba, also chairwoman of the Association of Vice-Chairmen of Nigeria, voted at Polling Unit 01 at Isele.
She urged eligible voters to turn out in large numbers and vote.
At Polling Unit 119 at Mile 12, voting started at 8:10 a.m., while the exercise started at Polling Unit 115 at 8.25 a.m. Voting began at Polling Unit 030, also at Mile 12, at 8:40 a.m. and took off at Polling Unit 050, also at 8:51 a.m.
At Polling Unit 004, Opposite Adamson House, Ojogbe, electoral officers began arranging for voting material at 8:58 a.m.
(NAN)
