The 2025 local government elections in Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, were conducted in a peaceful, free, and fair manner, despite witnessing a relatively low voter turnout.
At several polling units observed in Surulere, voters expressed satisfaction with the overall conduct of the elections. They commended the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) for its punctuality, professionalism, and transparent handling of the process.
While acknowledging the low voter turnout, many voters praised the calm atmosphere and the orderly manner in which the elections were conducted.
In Agungiade Ward, Unit 056, one of the voters, a teacher named Mr Prince Adenegan, expressed optimism that more people would come out before the polls closed.
According to him, “There is peace; everywhere is peaceful. The only thing is that we have a low turnout, but we are still expecting that people will come in mass. If you look at the time now, it’s just after 10 am, and we have till 3 pm; people are still coming.”
“The officials are doing their job, the party agents are here, and the voters are conducting themselves well; we are hopeful of a free and fair result when the winner is announced,” he submitted.
In Lati-erelu, Ijesha-Tedo Unit 051, a party agent and trader, Mr Onyinye Ashabelem, commended the transparent nature of the election.
“It has been peaceful; there is no problem at all. I am satisfied, very satisfied, with the conduct,” he submitted.
Also in Lati-erelu, Unit 044, a politician and a public administrator – LgA Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in Itire Ikate LCDA. Mr Osunmo Abiodun spoke on the need for an attitudinal change of Nigerians towards grassroots elections.
He started by saying that “the process is smooth and organised. My expectation is to make sure that democracy is practised in the real sense, and my secondary expectation is to see my party victorious.”
He spoke on what the reason for the low turnout might be: “The local government elections; Nigerians in general see it as a second- or third-rate election. If we were in 2027, where you would be having the presidential election, you would have seen more people come out, and also, some non-indigenes with other party interests would just stay at home. It is not as if people don’t want to come out, but people have diverse interests and personalities that they follow to the polling booth; that is the problem we are having today.”
Noticeable is a compliance with restrictions on vehicular movement as residents take to the streets to play football and hang out, as voting is going on.
About 139 candidates across 10 political parties are contesting for the 57 chairmanship positions in the ongoing local government election.
Also, 842 councillorship candidates from 14 political parties are vying for 376 legislative seats across the state.
The ruling All Progressives Congress is the only party fielding candidates in all 57 local councils and 376 wards, making it the most represented party in the contest.