By Ebunoluwa Sessou

The Lagos State House of Assembly, on Thursday, urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) to conduct by-elections in three wards that became vacant following the death of their councilors.

The resolution was reached during plenary after a motion raised under personal explanation by the lawmaker representing Mushin I State Constituency, Mr. Nurudeen Akinsanya.

Akinsanya explained that the sudden deaths of three councilors in kin 2025 had created legislative vacuums in the affected wards, leaving residents without representation at the grassroots level.

He lamented that the prolonged absence of elected councilors had denied constituents effective participation in local governance, stressing that the constitutional requirements for conducting by-elections into the affected seats had already been met.

Contributing to the debate, the lawmaker representing Mushin II, Mr. Yinka Esho, and his Alimosho II counterpart, Mr. Kehinde Joseph, supported Akinsanya’s position and urged the House to formally call on the governor to direct LASIEC to conduct the by-elections without further delay.

Following deliberations, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Mudashiru Obasa, directed the Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, to formally communicate the resolution of the Assembly to the governor.

It would be recalled that three councilors died shortly after being sworn in last year in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government, Somolu Local Government, and Odi-Olowo Local Council Development Area.

Specifically, the councilor representing Ward C1 in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government, Mrs. Oluwakemi Rufai, died on August 12, 2025, while the councilor representing Ward F in Somolu Local Government, Mrs. Basirat Oluwakemi Mayabikan, passed away on September 21, 2025.