Lagos PDP Vows Legal Action Over Council Polls
The Forum of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Local Government Chairmen in Lagos State has rejected the results of Saturday’s local council elections, describing the process as a sham and pledging to challenge it in court.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the Forum’s Chairman, Chief Adegboyega Adegbesan, said what took place during the polls was not an election but a coordinated assault on democracy. The briefing was held at the PDP Secretariat in Lagos Mainland and attended by local party leaders and stakeholders.
Adegbesan accused the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of colluding to rig the election through violence, ballot manipulation, and intimidation. He said armed thugs disrupted the process in many PDP strongholds, snatching ballot boxes and attacking voters, while security agents and electoral officials failed to act.
He added that in several local government areas, election materials arrived late or not at all, while pre-thumbprinted ballot papers were allegedly delivered in sacks. PDP agents were reportedly denied access to collation centres, and in some wards, results were declared without any collation.
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According to him, the party has compiled substantial evidence of electoral malpractice, including videos and eyewitness reports, and will head to court to challenge the outcome and recover what he described as a stolen mandate.
Adegbesan also questioned the credibility of LASIEC, saying the commission has lost the moral ground to oversee elections. He urged the National Assembly to intervene and consider reforms that would prevent future manipulation of grassroots elections.
Other PDP leaders at the event echoed similar sentiments. Alhaji Isiaka Shodiya from Alimosho called for the dissolution of state electoral bodies, while Alade Yusuf, a councillorship candidate in Yaba LCDA, demanded a total cancellation of the Ward F election, claiming no collation was conducted before a result was declared.
Despite widespread complaints, LASIEC declared the APC winners of all 57 chairmanship positions and 375 out of 376 councillorship seats in the state.
