Opposition parties in Lagos State have strongly rejected the outcome of Saturday’s local government elections, where the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured a near-total victory.
According to the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), the APC won all 57 chairmanship seats and 375 out of 376 councillorship positions across the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas.
The only exception came in Ward D of Yaba LCDA, where Babatunde Dosunmu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defeated his APC rival. Dosunmu, a former APC member, had recently defected to the PDP ahead of the elections.
Reacting to the results, PDP Deputy Chairman in Lagos, Tai Benedict, questioned their credibility.
He described the APC’s overwhelming win as unrealistic, given the widespread voter apathy observed on election day.
“We saw people playing football during voting hours, yet LASIEC released massive figures,” Benedict said. “How do you explain such numbers when turnout was so low? It doesn’t add up. The system is flawed.”
He also took a swipe at the Labour Party (LP), saying the results exposed claims of the LP being more popular than the PDP as false.
Meanwhile, the LP’s Lagos Secretary, Sam Okpala, dismissed the election altogether, claiming there was no real voting in many polling units.
“What happened was a mockery of democracy,” he said. “In several areas, LASIEC officials failed to show up.
Where they did, the process was riddled with irregularities. It was a waste of public funds.”
Similarly, the African Action Congress (AAC) condemned the exercise, calling for the total cancellation of the poll.
Its chairman, Ayoyinka Oni, likened the election to a “coup,” alleging that LASIEC failed to conduct a transparent process from the onset.
In response to the backlash, APC Publicity Secretary Seye Oladejo praised voters for their support, calling the party’s clean sweep a “resounding endorsement” of its leadership and grassroots development agenda.
He also credited the party’s success to the hard work of its candidates and supporters, describing their performance as disciplined and united.