By Olasunkanmi Akoni

The Labour Party (LP) in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State has accused the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) of deliberately excluding its logo from ballot papers used in Saturday’s local government elections.

The omission has sparked outrage among party members and supporters, raising concerns about the transparency and fairness of the electoral process.

Images circulated on social media showed ballot papers displaying only the logos of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with the LP symbol conspicuously missing. One voter posted on X (formerly Twitter), “No Labour Party on the ballot box at Ajeromi-Ifelodun,” fueling public suspicion of political bias.

In response, LASIEC Chairperson, Justice Mobolanle Okikiolu-Ighile (Rtd), denied any wrongdoing. She stated that no political party was barred from the elections and emphasized that the Commission recognized only the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)-approved LP faction led by Pastor Dayo Ekong, in line with existing court directives.

However, the Lagos State LP Publicity Secretary, Barrister Adeola Onikoyi, accused LASIEC of colluding with the APC to sideline the Labour Party and manipulate the outcome of the election.

“Labour Party fielded candidates for the local government elections in Ajeromi-Ifelodun, but LASIEC, being compromised, only listed APC and PDP on the ballot papers,” Onikoyi claimed. “At no point did Pastor Dayo Ekong instruct INEC to remove the Labour Party logo. LASIEC is clearly intimidated by the popularity of our candidate, OmoBarca.”

He further declared the party’s intention to seek redress in court: “We shall meet LASIEC in court for conducting an election without the Labour Party logo. This is a deliberate act to deny voters their constitutional rights.”

Francis Barthlomew Chima, popularly known as “OmoBarca,” a key LP chieftain in the Ajeromi-Ifelodun federal constituency, also condemned what he described as a calculated effort to disenfranchise LP supporters. He vowed to challenge the conduct and outcome of the elections through legal channels.

The party is now demanding the cancellation of the election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun and has called on stakeholders to ensure accountability and fairness in future polls.