The Lagos All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries for local government elections which held weekend was marred by violence across the state with most of the elections inconclusive.
The ruling party Saturday scheduled open secret ballot primaries in the 245 wards across the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to select its chairmanship and councillorship flag-bearers ahead of the July 24 council polls.
The exercise was characterised by confusion and violence in many parts of Lagos as hoodlums stormed venues for the primaries, and party officials accused of favouring particular candidates ahead of the July 24 local government elections.
Two people were killed in Surulere area of the state, while several were injured in Agbado-Oke Odo.
One of the aspirants in Agbado Oke Odo, Honourable Abdulwahab Ajulo, escaped death by whisker as hoodlums attacked him, vandalising his vehicle in the process.
It was learnt that hundreds of APC members Saturday kept vigil at the party’s state secretariat in Lagos to express their anger over the alleged lack of fairness in the exercise.
Armed security operatives had mounted heavy presence at the secretariat and barricaded access roads leading into the premises of the party secretariat.
In Badagry, voting did not take place in all the 10 wards as there were disruptions and harassment over a wrong voters’ register.
In Agege, wrong accreditation sheets were brought and the electorate could not find their numbers and names on the voters’ register.
“There was no primary election in Agege, actually people came out early in the morning to cast their votes but were later scattered by some sponsored hoodlums.
“The activities of the hoodlums affected all the seven wards across the local government areas,’’ Sola Osolana, a chairmanship aspirant in Agege told newsmen.
Osolana said the hoodlums touched all the wards in the council from A-G to ensure the election did not hold or was cancelled.
We appeal to the party leadership to shift the primaries to the state secretariat of the APC, Acme Road, in Lagos.
“It is very clear that some people want genuine change, but few want to disrupt the change thereby manipulating the progress of the party,” he said.
Prince Abiodun Ogunji, incumbent vice chairman, Agege local government, who is also an aspirant, decried the activities of the hoodlums.
“There was no election in Agege. We want the election to be rescheduled with thorough supervision from the leaders,’’ he said.
However, Hon Babatunde Hunpe, representing Badagry in the House of Representatives, said the arrangements were alright until some people started disturbing the process in some centers because the process was not in their favour.
Most of the voting centres in Badagry did not vote as voters went home after waiting endlessly for hours.
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has scheduled July 24 for the local government election in the state.
