Officials of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) have raised concerns over poor voter turnout across polling units in Ikosi-Isheri Local Council Development Area during Saturday’s local government elections.
Despite early deployment of materials and personnel, polling stations remained largely empty hours after voting began.
At Polling Unit 036, where 56 voters were expected, only a handful had shown up by mid-morning. A LASIEC official at the unit lamented,
“We’ve been here since 8 a.m., but not many people have shown up.”
Polling Unit 020, Ward 2, recorded a similarly dismal turnout—only two voters out of 94 expected had participated as of the time of reporting.
Even more striking was Polling Unit 048, Ward C, which has 1,273 registered voters. As of 11 a.m., only 20 people had voted. At Unit 049, also in Ward C, just seven voters had turned up out of 1,029.
Despite the low turnout, officials said the process was peaceful, with no reported disturbances or security breaches. However, the poor participation continues a trend of widespread voter apathy in local elections.
Saturday’s polls are being held across 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs in Lagos, to elect chairmen and councillors responsible for grassroots governance. But voter disengagement, poor civic education, and logistical challenges remain major hurdles to robust participation.
LASIEC has acknowledged the turnout issue and pledged to address it through better public engagement and voter awareness campaigns ahead of future elections.
Voting was still ongoing in parts of Ikosi-Isheri at the time of filing this report.