PDP vs APC: Lagos supplementary election holds Saturday

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State, on Thursday met with various security agencies in the state to ensure successful supplementary election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency on Saturday.

The battle is between the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of the All Progressives Congress in the Feb. 23 election.

The PDP candidate, Mrs Rita Orji polled 31, 982 votes, while Mr Kolawole Taiwo of the APC scored 28, 758 votes in the result declared by the commission for the Feb. 23 election.

INEC Spokesman, Femi Akinbiyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) that the commission was ready to conclude the exercise.

The meeting, which was held at the INEC Office, Sabo-Yaba, had representatives of various security outfits, including the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in attendance.

Others at the meeting were representatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Department of State Security (DSS), the Nigerian Army, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)

Akinbiyi said the security agents had given assurance that there would be safety of men and materials for the election.

He said: “The commission is fully prepared for Saturday April 27 supplementary election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency.

“Today, we held an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting on the issue, and at the end of the meeting, they (security agencies) assured the people of the affected area that there is going to be adequate security of men and materials for the elections.

“As such, people in the constituency should come out en masse and vote for the candidate of their choice,” Akinbiyi told NAN.

“As a result of the court order that directed the commission to release the result of the election conducted on Feb. 23, the commission declared the result on April 17 and the election was declared inconclusive.

“This was because there were anomalies, over voting and non-compliance to the use of smart card readers in some polling units in the area.

“We have 71 polling units where the elections were cancelled for reason of over voting and violence,” he said.

These, he said, cut across eight registration areas (Wards), with the total registered voters in the affected areas being 43, 660.

According to the commission, the affected areas are: Ward 02, Awodi Ora with three polling units; Ward 03, Wilmer with six polling units; Ward 04, Olodi with one polling unit and Ward 05, Tolu with 27 polling units.

Others are: Ward 07, Ojo Road with two polling units; Ward 09, Alaba-Oro with two polling units, Ward 10, Mosafejo with 18 polling units and Ward 11, Temidire 2 with 12 polling units.