Voters were left stranded on Saturday morning at Polling Units 061 and 008 in Ojodu Local Government Area of Lagos State as electoral officials failed to show up hours after the scheduled commencement of the local government elections.
By 12 PM, no official from the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) had arrived at the polling units, leaving at least eight frustrated voters waiting under the watch of two stationed police officers.
“We have been here since 7 a.m. What is delaying them? When are we going to start accreditation if by noon we haven’t even started?” asked Mrs. Muinat Adejobi, one of the early voters.
She narrated how one of the voters who came from Ijebu in Ogun State, where he resides, had to leave in frustration.
“He registered here in Lagos and wanted to vote, but he left angrily when he saw there was no sign of election officials,” she said.
Another resident, identified as Wale, expressed anger at the widespread absence of LASIEC officials.
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“These officials have not arrived in any part of Ojodu. We’ve been moving from one polling unit to another on a motorcycle nowhere have we seen them. This is not acceptable.”
A woman who preferred to remain anonymous also lamented the poor turnout among young voters in the area, blaming it on the absence and delay of the officials.
“Many of our youths have lost interest because nothing is happening.
“I even heard that some of the officials are trekking down here because there are no vehicles. Is it voters that should be waiting for them or the other way around?”
As of the time of filing this report, voting activities in Ojodu remained stalled due to the continued absence of electoral officials.
