By HENRY UMORU, EVELYN USMAN & BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE
LAGOS—Protests, Monday, trailed the local government elections held in Lagos last Saturday, as youths suspected to be supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,  yesterday, took to the streets of Somolu and Ikoyi and other areas, challenging the results of the election announced by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC)

This is just as the National leadership of PDP said, Monday, that it was sad and disappointed over the conduct of the election.

Protesting youths in Ikoyi, who carried placards, some of which read; give us our mandate, ‘ Any plan to rip us of our mandate will be resisted’, claimed that records taken by representatives of the party at the end of the election showed that Mr. Ibrahim Obanikoro won.

The entire area was thrown into confusion as another group attempted to engage the protesters in a fight. Both sides, as gathered, were armed with dangerous weapons.

But the swift arrival of policemen reportedly foiled what would have been a bloody clash. Two Armoured Personnel Carriers(APCs)  and a fire service vehicle were mounted in the area, with policemen combing the entire area.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro, son of Ambassador Musiliu Obanikoro, PDP candidate as Chairman, Ikoyi/Obalende Local Council Development Area, and five other councillorship candidates have challenged the credibility of LASIEC, which could not release the results 24 hours after polls.

He alleged that many  officials of the electoral body were card-carrying members of ACN and staff of the councils in the state, who were strategically positioned to ensure that ACN swept the polls.

PDP cries foul

In a statement, Monday, by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Professor Rufai Alkali, the party  described the polls as characterised by massive rigging and manipulation, just as PDP accused members of its main opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN as hypocrites.

According to Alkali,  ‘’the massive rigging and manipulation of figures as well as the withholding of results by the ACN controlled LASIEC all go to expose the hypocrisy of the ACN which is quick to shout louded murder whenever they lose elections.

‘’The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to express its profound sadness and total disappointment with the conduct of the Local Government Elections in Lagos State over the weekend.

‘’We had earlier alerted the people of Lagos State of deliberate measures put in place by the ACN to pre-determine the outcome of the exercise. While we have never doubted the ACN’s capacity for mischief, the conduct of its officials as well as the staff of LASIEC in this election beats our widest imagination.

‘’Our agents recorded cases of massive ballot stuffing, physical intimidation and clear cases of bias by the electoral umpire. We wish to place on record that some results, especially in areas considered PDP strongholds are still being withheld while the leaders of the ACN, in collusion with LASIEC officials are busy changing their figures. We therefore demand for the immediate release of all the results of the elections.

‘’We however wish to commend our candidates and supporters for braving all the odds and putting up a great showing inspite of the numerous obstacles erected by the hypocritical ACN government in Lagos.

‘’We have always known that in a free and fair contest, the PDP remains the Party to beat in each and every State of Nigeria. We therefore urge all our members and supporters to remain calm and law abiding as we are prepared to use every available legitimate means to ensure that the will of the people is truly expressed.

‘’We wish to urge the law enforcement agencies to ensure that those LASIEC officials arrested for electoral fraud do not escape justice.”