Some officials of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) in Kosofe Local Government Area of Lagos State have attributed their lateness to polling centres to non-availability of card readers.
They said on Saturday during the Lagos State Local Government Area election at Ward G, Polling Unit 040\041, Ogudu Junior Grammar school, GRA, Ogudu, that they had use manual identification for the elections.
LASIEC officials arrived the Ward G, Polling unit 040/041 centre at 9.20 a.m., where an APC Chairmanship candidate, Mr Moyosore Ogunlewe, was expected to vote.
The presiding officer at Unit 041, Ward G, Mr Abiodun Bisayo, said the delay was due to the fact that presiding officers had to wait for LASIEC officials to give them card readers, stressing that they left for the voting centres when they were told to use manual identification.
“It is not our fault for coming late, the LASIEC officers are responsible. We have all other materials, except the card readers,” he said.
His counterpart at Unit 040, Ms Jenipher Osayande, corroborated his claim, stressing that they had other materials for the elections, except the card reader.
“We are going to use manual identification as there is no card reader,” she said.
Madam Ebun Babatunde, 83, said that she got to the venue about 5.30 a.m. from her residence in Ikorodu.
She said she registered at Ogudu but relocated about two years ago, stressing that she left Ikorodu early in the morning due to the restriction of movement by the Lagos State government.
Babatunde said she came to vote because it was her civic responsibility, calling on those to be voted for to represent the people and not their selfish interests.
She urged voters to always vote for the best persons that would do well for the people. “I have participated in all elections in Nigeria because I believe my vote will count.
“Even in the Bible, some people were elected. Election is biblical. I am not happy as at now (8.45 a.m.) that the LASIEC officials are not here yet. They told us to come on time.”
Voting started at the units at 9.50 a.m. with less than 20 people around.
Some residents also expressed dissatisfaction with the local government election, because the restriction of movement came as a surprise to most of them.
Some of them said that they were of the opinion that the election had been postponed while others had no knowledge of the election at all.
On Saturday, some of the residents, who came out to vote, expressed mixed feelings on the election, claiming that there was insufficient public awareness.
A resident of Oto Awori LCDA, Mr Anayo Nebonta, said that he only “got wind of the election this morning” on his way to his business.
According to him, in the past when such elections were held, it was given wide publicity for every eligible voter to be aware, to come out and exercise their rights.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction on what he described as “poor publicity” of the ongoing process and urged that it be made better in the future.
“This morning, many Lagos residents were not even aware of this Local Council election, and we were asking ourselves if this election is meant for some segment of the state, because if we are not aware then who are those to cast the votes.
“I had planned my business for today only to be informed of the restriction of movement.
“I advise that in a democratic setting like Nigeria, there should be sufficient publicity, to prepare voters for the exercise.
“This is because, we are the ones to select our leaders,” he said.
“In the same vein, a voter at Ward B Oto Awori, Mr Kehinde Adegoke, said that he was also surprised last night when he learnt that there would be elections this morning.
According to him, on his way to his ward, he also met some residents, who were going about their businesses but were turned back by the police.
Adegoke said ” I will say that some Lagosians are not aware that there will be elections today.
“Personally, I will not pretend I had prior knowledge of this election but I got to know during my discussion with friends last night.
“So, this morning, as I was on my way to the ward, I even saw some people who were turned back by the police and one could see that they were going for their respective businesses.
“I really don’t know what happened and how it happened but I think the information on the election did not go round,” he said.
Miss Iyabo Oloruntobi said that when she came out of the house this morning, she was informed by friends that the election had been postponed.
“In fact even me, when I came out this morning, everyone in my area was saying there was nothing like election.
“I went back to my house but later decided to come out again when I discovered no vehicle was moving and I saw some policemen.
“That was what gave me assurance that there will be election,” she said.
On his part, a trailer driver, Mr Rotimi Abiodun, said that although he heard “rumours” about the election, he had been outside his house since 7 a.m, to observe the streets, to know when to go about his business.
“Madam, I have been sitting here since 7 a. m, so I am only observing the road and once I get a chance, I will drive off, ” he said.
Asked if he would ensure he cast his vote today, he kept mute and walked away.
Meanwhile, at the Oto Awori LCDA, the Electoral Officer in charge, Ms Modupeola Banjo, said that there were five wards in the area, as well as 72 polling units.
She added that election materials had been dispersed while officials were on their way to their various units.
At the time of filing this report from the Oto Awori LCDA, electoral officers had arrived at nine polling units at both ward A and Ward B.
Similarly, in Odi-Olowo LCDA, many of the polling booths at ilupeju, Kayode/Fadeyi had voting materials arriving late.
Several voters in the area complained that they were not previously aware of the election.
“We only knew about this election this morning,” they said.
As they continued to complain, some soccer lovers preferred to turn the empty roads into football pitches.
Meanwhile, some commercial tricycle operators in Liasu area of Ikotun, Lagos State, disregarded the movement restrictions put in place for the elections.
Lagos State Government had announced restriction of movement across the state between 8a.m and 3p.m on Saturday to enable a hitch-free conduct of elections into positions of Chairmen and Councillors in all the state’s 57 LGAs and LCDAs.
One of the operators, Mr Saheed Eniola, said that he decided to work in order to provide food for his family, saying that the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. restriction was not necessary.
“I can’t stay at home till 3 p.m. because of election. What will my family eat? Nobody will give me money to feed my children if I don’t work.
“Besides, I am not voting and I don’t know any of the candidates vying for the post in the election,” he said.
Also, Mr James Azino said that he acquired his tricycle through hire purchase, noting that the restriction could affect his remittance for the month.
“I got this Keke NAPEP through hire purchase, if I stay back at home, where will I get money to pay back at the end of the month?
“There is hunger in the land, the government should help to reduce the high cost of living we are experiencing,” he said.
Mrs Grace Uche, a widow who has been riding a tricycle since she lost her husband two years ago, said raising her four children alone has not been easy.
“I have four children at home to feed and cater for, so I can’t afford to sit at home till 3 p.m. before working today,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Ward E, polling unit 12, unit 7 and 09 in Liasu Road, ldimu LCDA accreditation of voters started around 9 a.m., while voting has also commenced in the three units.
People without nose masks were allowed to vote, after going through the temperature check.
In some areas, officials abandoned card-readers and resorted to manual accreditation of voters.
Most card-readers deployed to the polling units did not function, a situation that created apprehension among voters, security personnel and election officials.
At the Okota-Isolo/Oshodi Local Council Development Area, the card reading machine kept fluctuating, forcing the election officials to abandon it.
At polling unit 0-29, Ward F-4, Adekunle-Araba Junction, some voters were uncomfortable with the non-usage of the card readers and protested, but election officials explained that they resorted to manual voting because the readers were not functioning.
An electoral official, who craved anonymity, said that he resorted to the manual voting “to do my job”.
“I do not have the authority to speak on the issue, but I couldn’t have left the job undone just because of the card-readers when I had other options.
“The card readers have been without network since morning, so I was left with no option. I did not want to waste the time of my voters,” she said.
According to her, every voter is required to use the manual process, especially those that were properly accredited and registered in the ward.
“Once the name of such voter is verified from the records, he or she puts down his complete details in the form provided, and is allowed to cast his vote,” she said.
Some party agents at the polling unit said that they had objected to the manual voting but had to accept the fact that it was the last option.
A voter, Mr Femi Olawuyi, said that he had also been at the polling unit since morning and had cast his vote already without the card readers.
“I think we are even better off without the card readers.
“We had to resort to the manual voting; our records are valid, so we didn’t have any problems casting our votes,” he said.
Mr Rasheed Ajose, a politician in Onota-Isolo, said the electoral process was smooth and peaceful.
According to him, the grassroots process of politics has enabled all stakeholders to do their home work in good time and with right resources available to them.
“Personally, I’m proud of the level of election process and we hope we can continue this way, though I am not happy that the turnout has not been massive.
“Some politicians easily concede defeat because of the dominance of a particular party in that state, but so far it has been a wonderful election day,” Ajose said.
A member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Kingsley Iruonagbe, similarly expressed disappointment over the low turnout, blaming it on alleged intimidation of the electorate.
According to him, “the ruling party in the area has the reputation of intimidating voters; this is why they have not turned out well.
“The ruling party is domineering. Its members intimidate the electorate. This is why we have low turnouts, but the process has been a peaceful one,” he said.
