"LAGOS COMMUNITIES DIDN'T COME OUT TO VOTE IN THE BY-ELECTIONS" - INEC

The bye-election in Ojokoro area of the Ifako/ Ijaiye Federal Constituency of Lagos State is going on smoothly, though low turn out was recorded.

Some of the adhoc staff like National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) arrived the venue of their primary assignment early on Saturday morning.

The security situation was normal with movement on a skeletal note. The turn out of voters has not been too impressive. At The African Church, unit B polling station, Ojokoro, out of 400 registered voters only 10 had registered and voted as at 11 am.

Residents of Iju-Ishaga, Ogba, Agege and Ifako/Ijaiye areas on Saturday resorted to trekking due to partial road restrictions resulting into heavy traffic over the ongoing Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency By-election in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there was heavy traffic along Agege/Ogba and Fagba axes; shops were also closed and security men with patrol vans were seen in the areas.

Some of the residents who spoke to NAN lamented low publicity as they were not aware of the by-election.

Mr Seye Adeoti, a civil servant, said that due to heavy traffic he alighted from the bus and started trekking from Iyana-Orile in Agege to Ogba.

Mrs Biola Abdul-Lateef, a trader at Fagba, said she was not aware of the by-election that it was the heavy traffic and the mass trekking of people on the road that suggested something was happening in the area.

She said she was not allowed to open her shop because of the election as a polling unit was situated close to her shop.

Also, Mr Celestine Okhiro, an apprentice said the restriction had made him trekked from Pen Cinema in Agege to Iju-Ishaga.

NAN also reports that the six political parties’ contesting in the poll are: Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), African Democratic Party (ADC), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The by-election resulted from the death of Mr Elijah Adewale, who represented the constituency in the House of Representatives.

Adewale died in Abuja on July 20.

Most of the staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) were waiting for voters at press time.