A Nigerian singer, Olubankole Wellington also known as Banky W has said elections are yet to hold in about eight polling units in the Lekki Area of Lagos despite the postponement of the polls to today Sunday, February 26.
He made the claim in a live interview with Arise Correspondent monitored by Church Times
Elections could not hold on Saturday in the area because no official of the Independent National Electoral Commission showed up. The INEC chairman, Mahmud Yakubu had promised that nobody would be disenfranchised. in compliance with INEC regulations, he said elections will hold in those areas on Sunday.
But that is yet to happen. Wellington who was waiting at his polling unit along with scores of others said “the election was postponed to today February 26”.
Unfortunately, no INEC official has been to any of the polling units as of 2.30 pm when he was granting the interview.
Even at that, he said efforts are being made to collate results for the Eti -Osa Local Government which Lekki falls under.
He said, “We have been waiting here since 8 am in the morning to cast our vote but we are yet to see INEC officials. In the whole of Lekki, there are about eight polling units where elections have not taken place. People tried to vote yesterday they could not. Today many people are out again to cast their votes and nothing has happened.”
Banky W said he placed a call to an official of INEC, Mrs. Folayemi who said she was waiting for an official directive to get INEC staff to come to conduct elections in the area.
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He said it was ironic that it was Lekki where Endsars took place that INEC was trying to disenfranchise. Endsars happened here. You can’t continue to trample on the rights of people and expect them not to push back” Banky W said.
Also on the programme, the Country Director of Action Aid, Mrs. Ene Obi decried the lacklustre attitude of INEC in the conduct of the 2023 elections. She said as of 2 PM before she appeared on the Arise interview, INEC was yet to upload a good percentage of the results of the elections where voting already took place.