By Jemimah Wellington, JKNewsMedia Correspondent
POLLS CLOSED at 3.00pm across Lagos State on Saturday following the completion of local government elections in the state’s 20 Local Governments Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
Electoral officers swiftly transitioned to the counting and sorting phase, as security forces fortified the headquarters of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) in Yaba.
Ballot papers from various polling units were being tallied in the presence of observers, party agents, and voters who chose to monitor proceedings.
At Polling Unit 17 in Surulere, the process commenced at exactly 3:04pm, marking a seamless transition from voting to result aggregation.
LASIEC Chairperson, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (retd), addressed the media from the commission’s head office, giving a situational overview of the day’s electoral activities.
She reported that all 15 participating political parties had fielded candidates across chairmanship, vice-chairmanship, and councillorship positions, and that materials had reached all designated voting areas, including those initially delayed due to terrain challenges.
“Our teams worked through the logistics, and despite some late starts in remote areas, the materials got to their destinations and voting was conducted as scheduled,” she said. “We are now progressing with sorting and collation.”
As results from polling units began filtering in, security was visibly reinforced around the LASIEC headquarters.
Lancaster Street in the Sabo area of Yaba was barricaded by law enforcement units, including special squads and tactical teams from the police.
The commission’s premises were surrounded by armoured vehicles and patrol vans, with officers stationed at strategic positions.
Inside the LASIEC compound, electoral officials were seen going about collation duties under tight supervision.
The chairperson confirmed that the security presence was a proactive measure to ensure an uninterrupted collation process.
She added that LASIEC was closely monitoring the flow of results from ward and LGA levels, with the aim of completing the collation either later in the day or by early Sunday morning.
At several polling units, including those in Surulere and across various council areas, voting was conducted in line with the six-hour timeline mandated by LASIEC.
The elections covered all positions up for contest at the grassroots level, consolidating the state’s democratic engagement at local tiers of governance.
Fifteen political parties were officially listed for participation, with candidates contesting across all divisions of the state.
