The Lagos State United Opposition Political Parties (LASTOP) has condemned the state government over the inability to start the process of conducting the local government election.
At a press conference held on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 in Lagos, the former Governorship Candidate of the Action Alliance Party and Spokesperson of LASTOP, Sola Olomola, addressed the media on crucial issues regarding the local government elections in Lagos state.
Olomola raised concerns about the delay in conducting elections into the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos State.
He pointed out that the tenure of the current local government officials is set to expire in four months, yet there are no signs of preparations for the elections.
The main issue highlighted during the press conference was the refusal of the Lagos State House of Assembly, under the leadership of Right Honorable Mudashiru Obasa, to screen the nominees for the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
The nominees have been named but have been waiting for over eight months for screening, raising suspicions of a deliberate attempt to delay the elections.
Olomola emphasised that Section 5 of the LASIEC law mandated the conduct of elections into all the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs in Lagos state, not just the LGAs.
He warned against any attempt to shortchange the LCDAs by conducting elections only in the LGAs, as it would be strongly resisted by opposition parties in the state.
The opposition parties are determined to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming elections, citing the government’s failure to bring development to the people, LASTOP said.
It accused the ruling APC of planning to either illegally extend the tenures of current LGA and LCDA executives or replace them with handpicked APC members as Sole Administrators.
The body said such a move would undermine democracy at the local government level.
LASTOP appealed to the Judiciary to expedite action on the resolution of all litigations related to the screening and inauguration of LASIEC nominees to ensure timely elections in all LGAs and LCDAs.
They also called for the resignation of Speaker Mudashiru Obasa if he continued to delay the screening process.
The opposition parties threatened to mobilise their members and voters to occupy the Lagos State House of Assembly until the screening of LASIEC nominees would be completed.
They condemned the Speaker’s actions and alleged that his ties to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were influencing his decisions.
LASTOP reiterated its commitment to challenging APC in the upcoming elections and called for a united effort to remove the current government from power in Lagos state.
The press conference was attended by various opposition party representatives, including those for the Labour Party, NNPP, ZLP, and Allied Peoples Movement.
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