Youths in Lagos who were denied the opportunity to cast their votes during the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly elections expressed grievances on Sunday, February 26, 2023, outside one of the collation centres at the Lagos State Model Nursery and Primary School, Marina, Lagos.
They alleged being disenfranchised because no Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, official was present at their Polling Units (PU) on February 25 during the elections.
They chanted solidarity songs and shouted, “We must Vote.”
However, security operatives including the police and the army were on ground to ensure safety, orderliness, and peace in the area.
One of the irate youths, who preferred to be addressed as Charles, claimed that elections did not hold at Polling Unit 064, Ward 6, United Estate, Sangotedo.
“We did not see any INEC official till now that I am here. What we want now is that we want to vote; even though my candidate does not win, I know that I will justify my feeling in my own fatherland.
“I want INEC to go there, allow us to vote; this is our era; we the youth must take our course,” he said.
Another disgruntled youth, Henry Mba, said that the primary school where elections were to hold had 10 polling units, but only seven out of the 10 cast their votes.
According to him, the three units where voters did not vote had the largest number of voters.
“Voters were present at those polling units till very late in the night, through to early hours of this morning, hoping to still cast their votes,” Mba said.
Speaking to NAN, Mr Olubankole Wellington, known as Banky W, who was there to calm the youths, urged INEC to officially address stakeholders on the issues raised by the youths.
Banky W is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, House of Representative Candidate, Federal Constituency, Lagos State.
He said: “The days are gone when Nigerians will just sit by and allow people in authority to do whatever they want without being held accountable.
“So, what you are seeing is a community that is intending to hold the people in authority accountable, to allow them to exercise their civil rights, vote for who they want.
“Also, I think it is only fair, and at the end of the day, even if they are not ready to do it today, they should come out and address the people and let us know when they will vote.”
No INEC official was on ground to give comments.
Nigeria Decides: INEC Speaks On Lagos Violence, Gives Reason For Canceling Polls In Edo
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has spoken on the violence that erupted in some areas in Lagos during the presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
There were pockets of violence in some areas in Lagos on Saturday as thugs attacked polling units and destroyed election materials.
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Addressing the press at the International Conference Centre, ICC, in Abuja on Saturday, the Chairman of the Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu said that elections have been countermanded in some federal constituencies in Edo State.
He said the reason for countermanding the election in Esan North and Esan South was because of the missing logo of a political party on the ballot paper.
“We are aware of violence and destruction of elections materials at Mafoluku, Agege, Oshodi, and Elegushi. We have been able to normalise the situation in a number of places where election is currently ongoing,” he said.
“So we keep our eyes in the processes in the other areas that I have mentioned,” he said.
He continued “In Edo State, we handled a situation yesterday where one of the political parties whose acronym is on the ballot and the logo is not on the ballot paper in a federal constituency and after meeting with stakeholders, a decision was taken since the materials were intact to countermand the election. So we have suspended the election in Esan North, Esan South, and Igueben.”
