Voting was significantly delayed in several polling units across the Abule Egba and Meiran Local Government Areas of Lagos State on Saturday due to major logistical setbacks involving officials of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
Saturday Telegraph reports that despite LASIEC’s official directive for voter accreditation to begin by 8:00 a.m., many polling units remained inactive hours later.
Findings from polling units along Old Ota Road to Abule Egba and throughout Meiran revealed that electoral officers arrived late, with some locations witnessing no activity until past 10:00 a.m.
At Polling Unit 047, Kabowe Bus Stop, Meiran, voting did not commence by 9:30 a.m., with the venue largely deserted. Similar delays were recorded at Polling Units 029, 107, and 028 in the Olota area, where LASIEC staff did not arrive as of 10:00 a.m.
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Polling units along Ekoro Road, including PU 011, PU 034, PU 061, PU 017, PU 010, PU 027, PU 022, PU 045, and PU 008, also experienced slow starts, with many voters expressing frustration over the late commencement.
Speaking with our reporter, LASIEC officials admitted that mislabelled materials, wrong deployment locations, and fuel shortages were to blame. Grace Tolape, the Presiding Officer at PU 039 in Meiran, explained that unclear directions and faulty dispatch information delayed their arrival.
“We were misdirected and had to call the office again for clarification. That’s why we got here late,” she said. “As of a little past noon, fewer than 30 people had voted out of over 1,000 registered voters.”
At PU 017 on Ekoro Road, Polling Clerk Owolabi Isaac described the logistical confusion: “The number on our envelope didn’t match our actual polling unit. We thought it was Unit 16, but inside it was for Unit 17. We walked miles before realising the error, and we’re not the only ones. Several other officials went through the same ordeal.”
Another Presiding Officer, speaking anonymously, reported that her team’s vehicle ran out of fuel after repeated misdirections:
“We drove through Ikola into Kola, got lost, and eventually ran out of fuel. We had to be picked up by a private vehicle.”
A LASIEC official at PU 034 blamed the situation on inconsistencies between the LASIEC and INEC code assignments:
“INEC recently changed most polling unit codes. Unfortunately, LASIEC wasn’t aligned with the new format. That made it extremely difficult to find locations.”
“Instead of assigning two polling units per vehicle, many of us were crammed into one bus that had to drop off teams one by one, further delaying the process.”
Beyond the delays, officials noted alarmingly low voter turnout. “People didn’t wait. When they saw we weren’t ready, they left,” one electoral officer lamented.
The electoral commission has yet to issue an official apology or statement addressing the widespread delays and logistical lapses that marred the early hours of the election.
