By Clifford Ndujihe
LAGOS— The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, yesterday, fixed October 22 for elections into the state’s 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas.

The Commission also issued guidelines for the polls to political parties in the state.

According to LASIEC guidelines for the 2011 council polls, campaigns are to kick off on July 21 and end on October 20.

Speaking at a parley with political parties in the state on the electoral guidelines at the Commission’s office in Lagos, LASIEC Chairman, Justice Afolabi Adeyinka (rtd) assured that the commission would conduct free and fair elections.

However, there were indications that the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party( PDP) might boycott the polls again, as it had consistently done since 2002 over the legality or otherwise of conducting elections in the 37 LCDAs of the state.

This indication emerged yesterday, during a parley with Lagos PDP Secretary, Mr Tunji Shelle, who  recalled that first civilian governor of the state, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, created 12 LCDAs in the Second Republic when Lagos had eight councils but did not conduct elections into them.

He wondered why LASIEC was tampering with the constitution by conducting elections into the “37 illegal contraptions called LCDAs.”

Lagos State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Setonji Kosheodo lamented that LASIEC was bent on conducting elections into the 37 LCDAs, arguing that it was illegal to conduct elections into LCDA’s which were yet to be recognised as Local Government Areas as stipulated in the constitution