A candidate in the forthcoming Lagos State local government election, Ayodele Adio, on Wednesday, faulted the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission over what he described as the illegal delineation of polling units ahead of the July exercise.
Adio, who is contesting the chairmanship of Eti-Osa Local Government Area, under the Youth Party, said the actions of LASIEC amounted to an abuse of constitutional provisions and a deliberate attempt to manipulate the electoral process.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to PUNCH Nigeria Limited at its headquarters in Magboro, Ogun State, Adio said, “The balkanisation of polling units by LASIEC is both illegal and unconstitutional.
“Only the Independent National Electoral Commission has the power to delineate polling units or registration areas. State electoral commissions have no such authority.”
Citing an example from Delta State, Adio warned of the potential dangers of arbitrarily redrawing electoral boundaries.
“We’ve seen how just four polling units in Warri, delineated by INEC, have led to serious conflict between the Itsekiris and Ijaws.
“That’s even with Supreme Court backing. You can imagine the tension when a state commission without legal powers engages in similar acts,” he said.
He noted that the electoral process in Lagos State was being compromised by the conduct of elections in the 37 Local Council Development Areas, which he said were not constitutionally recognised.
“Unfortunately, what we’ve seen, particularly in Lagos State, is an insistence on conducting elections in the 37 LCDAs not recognised by the constitution.
“By implication, funds legally accrued to the 20 constitutionally recognised local governments are being distributed to 37 LCDAs, which is unlawful,” Adio said.
He further alleged that the government was aware of the illegitimacy of the LCDAs, pointing out that members of the ruling party were sponsoring a constitutional amendment bill to legitimise them.
“To show that the ruling party itself realises these LCDAs are unconstitutional, we have Honourable James Faleke from Ikeja and Honourable G.B. Benson from Ikorodu sponsoring a constitutional amendment bill in the National Assembly to legalise them.
“This means they know the LCDAs are currently not recognised by the constitution. Instead of continuing with this illegality, they should have followed due process for a constitutional amendment, which includes approval by two-thirds of state Houses of Assembly,” he said.
Adio accused LASIEC of “putting the cart before the horse” by proceeding with elections in the LCDAs while seeking legitimacy retrospectively through the proposed amendment.
He also condemned the lack of transparency ahead of the elections, noting that political parties did not have access to a polling guide, just a month before the polls.
He asked: “Elections are exactly one month away, and nobody has a polling guide. How do we prepare agents or deploy them if we don’t know where polling units are located?”
Adio added, “Yet, LASIEC is asking us to submit names of polling agents by next week. How can I assign agents to polling units that have not been disclosed? This process appears predetermined, and we are all being asked to play along to give it a façade of legitimacy.”
He concluded by calling for urgent reforms to ensure electoral transparency and constitutional compliance, stressing that the current approach in the state “undermines democracy and public trust.”
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