A former Minister of Communications, Maj. General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (rtd.) has condemned the decision of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC to conduct council elections in the 20 LGAs and LCDAs in the state.
The election, according to LASIEC has been slated for July 12, and in preparation the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, held its ward congresses across the state on Sunday.
The congresses, according to checks by the magazine was marred by irregularities and protest, following allegations of imposition by the leadership of the party.
As in the past, political pundits said the ruling APC is likely to sweep the elections in all the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDA’s, which have remained a contentious issues, since they were created by the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu while he was governor of the state.
The LCDAs have yet to be listed among the 774 LGAs recognised in the Nigerian Constitution.
According to Olanrewaju, any election conducted into the LCDAs is likely to be nullified if challenged in the court by any willing party.
The former Minister urged the LASIEC to be guided by this, saying the legitimacy of the councils has remained a matter of contention for years.
Olanrewaju: “It is unconstitutional to conduct elections in 20 constitutionally recognised LGAs and unconstitutionally recognised 37 LCDAs in Lagos State. This election will be a nullity if any of the participating parties should challenge the conduct of the election in the court. The only recognized 20 Local Governments in Lagos State are listed in the Amended 1999 Constitution.
“If elections were to be conducted in 20 constitutionally recognised LGAs, indigenes would form 90 percentage of the contestants. With an additional 37 LCDAs, the indigenes have been schemed out of contest.
“It is obvious now that the state indigenes have lost their patrimony. I think one of the participating parties can go to court and challenge the status quo. Can’t this course of action be taken?”
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