Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode says the local government election ongoing in the state is to secure credible leadership for the 57 local councils which have been without elected leaders for five years now.
The election which is to elect chairmen and councillors for the 20 local government areas and 57 local council development areas of the state is being conducted by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC).
Ambode spoke this morning after casting his vote at Polling Unit 033, Ward A6, Ogunmodede College, Epe, his home town.
According to the governor, credible leadership at the grass roots was imperative to complement what his administration was doing at the state level.
The governor, who said that necessary steps have been taken to ensure the peaceful conduct of the polls, noted that as a cosmopolitan state, Lagos could not afford not to have a peaceful election to build the confidence of the electorate in democratic process.
“What we are doing is to put a credible process in place to encourage the electorate.
“People need to go out and vote, so it is important this election is peaceful.
You can’t stay back at home and expect things to work. Yes we have done our best at the state, but we need credible people at the local government level too.”
Ambode said from reports so far, the election is peaceful, and expressing the optimism it that it will stay peaceful throughout the state.
Meanwhile, at the ward where the governor voted, only the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Action Alliance (AA) were in contest. Other parties including the main opposition, People Democratic Party (PDP) were absent.
This scenario was also observed in other parts of the, an indication that the ruling APC is might sweep the polls as usual.
The last time the state conducted local government election was five years ago under the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola, and was swept by the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) now APC.
JOSHUA BASSEY
