*ACN sweeps 57 councils chairmanship seats in Lagos, amidst protest
*PDP won 18 councillorship seats, CPC 2
* LASIEC boss urges aggrieved parties to go to Election Tribunal for redress

By Olasunkanmi Akoni & Monsur Olowoopejo

THE 57 Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN chairmanship candidates in last Saturday, October 22, 2011 Local Government election in Lagos State were, yesterday, declared to have won all the seats in the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs barely 48 hours after the conclusion of the exercise.

According to the results which were, however, declared amidst protests, 355 councillorship candidates of ACN won the seats in the 376 wards, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP councillorship candidates won 16 seats, Congress for Progress Change, CPC won two seats while ward H in Mushin Local Government Area was declared inconclusive.

The chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC Justice Abdulfatai Adeyinka (rtd) who announced the results at a late evening media briefing at the commission’s secretariat, said his commission could not announce the results earlier because it needed to get its figures right. He said though he was the chief electoral officer of the state, the announcement of the results was the duty of the returning officers at the various council areas. Section 5(1)-(8) of the LASIEC law states that election results can only be announced at the polling units, Ward collation centre and the local government areas.

When asked about the protest by the PDP supporters over discrepancies against LASIEC officials involved in the exercise especially in Ikoyi Obalende and Badagry council areas,  LASIEC boss said: “an electoral Tribunal has been set up and any aggrieved parties should go to election tribunal for the determination of their legal right.”

Gov. Babatunde Fashola at Ward 3G, State Senior Grammar School in Surulere, during the election.

However, the PDP said it has strong evidence that it won the chairmanship elections in five local council areas and a number of councillorship seats across the state. The state chairman of the party, Mr Setonji Koshedo who spoke to journalists at the party secretariat in Ikeja listed the councils where his party won to include Badagry, Ikoyi-Obalende, Eredo, Somolu, Agbado-Oke Odo and Ojo.

“ In Badagry Central local government, elections held peacefully, the results at polling booths distributed; same resulted collated at the ward collation centres  and thereafter announced by the local government returning officer,” Koshedo stated.

Speaking on the case of Ikoyi Obalende, where his party is laying claim to victory, the PDP leader said the returning officers absconded from the local government only to emerge at the LASIEC headquarter with “a purported” report.  Koshedo said his party has it on good authority that his party won the chairmanship election in the council area.

He showed journalists a video clip of the declaration on the Badagry election where the returning officer declared the results in favour of his party.

A statement by secretary of the Lagos PDP, Captain O Shelle (rtd), said “the attention of the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State and the Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro Campaign Group has been drawn to the orchestrated campaigns by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to want to sell the dummy to the undiscerning members of the public that the artificial stalemate created by them in the aftermath of the Ikoyi/Obalande local government election has been sorted out and in favour of their party.”

The statement reads: “While it is not stunning that the latest propaganda has been modelled in such manner, it is however shocking that it has taken them nearly two days to string their thoughts together and in their characteristical element, sway the bend of public opinions in humiliating shades.

“First, we would like to state that as we put these lines together, results of the elections have not been announced by the ACN-controlled Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), almost 35 hours after voting had been done with.”

He, however maintained that despite alleged attempts aimed at thwarting the electoral process, “our candidate, Babajide Obanikoro still won with a clear lead, owing to computed results, right from the polling units through the wards to the local governments, a fact the leadership of LASIEC could not contest.”

In addition, Shelle said “although, we suspect that the plan of the ACN is to have this election disqualified by sponsoring violence, we have refused to play into their antics and see their ploy through to fruition.

“Anyway, we are certain that no matter how long the electoral commission foot drags on this particular election, victory is already ours and no one can change the will of God in Ikoyi/Obalende local council development area”.

However, there were pockets of protest by PDP members at LASIEC secretariat over alleged misconduct by LASIEC officials during the elections.