The Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party has condemned the local government election conducted in the state on Saturday July 12, 2025 by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
Addressing the media on Friday at the party’s secretariat in Ikeja, the state Chairman of the Labour Party, Pastor (Mrs) Dr Adedayo Ekong stated that the elections were not exercise in democracy; “but calculated descent into the dark ages, orchestrated to subvert the will of the people.
“What we witnessed was not a contest of ideas, but a brazen assault on the electoral process by the ruling APC and their collaborators within the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
“I speak not just from a prepared script, but from the deep anguish in my heart and the collective outrage of every Lagosian who believes in democracy and the sacred power of their vote.
“Our party, the Labour Party, is built on an unshakeable foundation: the prosperity of our industries and businesses, and the progressive growth and dignity of every single family member in Lagos and across Nigeria.
“This is etched in our Constitution, symbolized by our Logo, and flies proudly on our Flag. It is a promise of light, of hope, of a future built on fairness and the will of the people,” she said.
Ekong emphasised that the alleged irregularities were not mere glitches; adding that they were systemic weapons deployed against the people.
The Chairman alleged inducement & bribery, which she said is a cancer spread through the process, corrupting LASIEC staff, security personnel, and even opposition agents.
She also alleged that thugs were empowered, financed, and unleashed to intimidate, threaten, and commit violence against voters and their agents, creating an atmosphere of terror.
According to her, LASIEC staff were seen ticking off the voters’ register indiscriminately, even with no voter present, adding that this is a blatant fabrication of turnout.
“The use of removable ink facilitated rampant multiple voting across polling units, making a mockery of accreditation.
“The deliberate use of pencils for result sheets, under the flimsy guise of “reducing errors,” was nothing short of an open invitation to alter results – a tactic straight from the fraudster’s handbook.
“In Labour Party strongholds, materials arrived scandalously late or not at all, as experienced in some parts of Oshodi isolo where more than 30 polling units were left unserved deliberately disenfranchising thousands and breeding voter apathy – a tactic straight out of the rigger’s playbook.
“In cahoots with the APC, LASIEC officials oversaw and enabled blatant ballot stuffing. Astronomical figures were recorded in places where voters simply did not turn up. It was electoral fiction,” she said.
Ekong insisted that citizens were openly bribed, adding that this cheapened the sacred act of choosing one’s leaders and lending credence to speculations that the ruling party is deliberately weaponising poverty.
“Our Polling Unit Agents were systematically discouraged, intimidated, and often physically prevented from verifying voters or challenging repeat voters. In some locations, voters flashed complementary cards or defaced PVCs and were still allowed to vote, despite objections from our agents.
“Streets were surreptitiously renamed to confuse voters and alter polling unit addresses.
“Polling Unit locations were changed without adequate notification, and the Voter Register was displayed only at Ward Collation Centres under impractical conditions, not at the actual polling units, making verification nearly impossible.
“Let me be unequivocally clear: This was not an election. It was daylight robbery sanctioned by the state.
“And I witnessed this complicity firsthand;During the voting, I personally caught an APC agent red-handed, engaged in the criminal act of ballot stuffing at a polling unit in Eti Osa.
“The evidence was undeniable. We immediately called in the police, presented the perpetrator, and demanded action. What happened? Nothing. The agent was shielded. The police, under the influence of the same forces manipulating the election, did nothing,” she said.
Ekong added that “this single incident, witnessed by myself and others, is a microcosm of the entire charade. It lays bare the shocking level of government complicity in the electoral fraud perpetrated against the people of Lagos State.
“The system, from top to bottom, was weaponized against democracy itself. It makes it obvious that the entire system needs to be overhauled completely.”
She alleged that the APC’s “brag of victory through cheating and malpractice, treating this not as a democratic contest, but as a matter of life and death for them, disregarding the will of the people.
“This brazen theft is weathering, indeed shattering, the confidence of citizens in democracy, as seen by the low turnout of voters.”
She stressed that “when votes don’t count, when the system is rigged, when perpetrators act with impunity, hope dies. This is the dangerous path the APC is dragging Lagos and Nigeria down.”
“And to those Parading as LP Leaders: I must also address a disturbing development.
“In the wake of our legitimate challenge to this electoral heist, individuals with no known antecedents, no history of struggle, and no affiliation with our grassroots movement in Lagos Labour Party have suddenly emerged from the shadows.
“They are now shamelessly parading themselves as “Chairmen” of the Labour Party in Lagos State.
“Let me state categorically: These are impostors, political jobbers, and merchants of deception.
“Without any legal backing, they even went ahead to sell forms to unsuspecting individuals before the elections, monies which they are yet to account for nor pay back to the affected people, are these the kind of people who should even aspire to come out and claim to be party leaders?
“Anyway you cannot Shame the shameless, they are cut out of the same cloth as their shameless paymasters.”
While saying that the Lagos Labour Party is not for sale, she said that the party cannot be bought, intimidated, and that they will not be hijacked.
She said; “Go back and tell your sponsors that their attempt to sow confusion and legitimize the illegitimate through these fake appointments has failed. We know who we are, and Lagosians know who truly represents the spirit of the Labour Party in this state.
“We will pursue every legal and peaceful avenue to challenge this electoral travesty.
“We owe it to every disenfranchised voter, every intimidated citizen, and every Nigerian who still believes this country can be better. We stand for the light against the darkness they seek to impose.
“We call on the Judiciary to rise to this historic moment. We call on true patriots within LASIEC and the security agencies to speak out.
“We call on the international community to hold Nigeria accountable. And we call on the resilient people of Lagos: Do not lose hope.
“Even the unconquerable Roman Empire eventually fell, much less charlatans such as these.
“The Labour Party in Lagos remains steadfast, united under my legitimate leadership, and committed to reclaiming the mandate you freely gave.
“We will continue to fight for the Lagos you deserve – a Lagos of prosperity, justice, and true democracy,” she said.
