By Innocent Anaba
LAGOS—Ahead of tomorrow’s Lagos State local government elections, the African Renaissance Party, ARP, has passed a vote of no confidence on Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, over the conduct of the polls.

Lagos chapter chairman of ARP, Chief Udoka Udeogaranya, in a statement, yesterday, said LASIEC’s public awareness on the elections was poor and could lead to voter apathy even at a time all political parties were participating in the polls.

He said: The non-performance of LASIEC was a result of its being a state agency, adding that its executive do not seem to conform with the constitutional provision, spelt out in chapter 2, section 14 (4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended,  and therefore could not command loyalty of all Lagosians.

Further he said, “the composition of LASIEC executive members as well as the appointment of commissioners of the state government do not conform to section 14(4) of chapter 2 of the constitution.”

According to him, “a closer perusal of the over 6,2million registered voters in Lagos State, gives a profound recognition that non- Yoruba ethnic group voters may well now be in majority.

“While it is at the discretion of political party to file candidates of their choice, but one wonders what could be in the mind of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Lagos State, other than perpetual tribalism to field most, if not all of the 57 chairmen of both Local Government Area and Local Council Development Area and 370 councillors with people of Yoruba ethnic group extraction, despite the fact that the resources of the state on which they hope these people will work with if elected, comes from all the people of the state and majority of these resources does not come from the Yoruba ethnic group of the state,” the party added.