Deborah Akinyosoye
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission has declared that any incident of ballot box snatching during Saturday’s local government election will result in a by-election in the affected area.
The commission made this known during a press briefing on Thursday, where its Chairman, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (retd.), assured residents of LASIEC’s readiness to deliver a free, fair, and credible poll across the 57 local councils in the state.
“There will be by-elections if a ballot box is snatched anywhere,” she said while answering questions from journalists at Tripple C Event Centre, Sabo Yaba, Lagos.
The LASIEC boss said, “While we don’t pray for such to happen,” there would be a need to conduct a by-election in any local council where such happened.
Answering questions from reporters at the briefing, the commission said there was no threat to postpone the election in any way.
The LASIEC boss assured Lagos residents of the readiness of the commission to conduct a free, fair and transparent election across the 57 local councils in the state.
LASIEC had fixed July 12, 2025, for the conduct of elections into the local government and local council development areas of the state.
To ensure successful conduct and security, the Lagos State Police Command also announced restrictions on movements on Saturday, July 12, 2025.
On Thursday, the police, however, announced the adjustment of the time on movement restriction in the state for the election.
In a statement issued by its spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday, the police announced the deployment of personnel at strategic locations for the Saturday poll.
On Thursday, the command announced a review of the time of movement restrictions.
“To alleviate the problem of residents with critical medical emergencies and appointments, and those with longtime international travel plans in and out of the country, the restriction of vehicular movement is hereby readjusted to commence at 6:00 am and end at 3:00 pm on Saturday, July 12, 2025, and not from 3.00 am as earlier announced.
“Members of the public are enjoined to cooperate and respect the new timing,” Hundeyin said in a statement.
The Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, reiterated the commitment of the command to ensuring a secure, safe, and orderly electoral process.