Ife Salako, the spokesperson for the Labour Party in Lagos State, has expressed a lack of confidence in the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) to conduct a free and fair local government election in July.
Speaking during an interview with BusinessDay at West Africa Civic Tech Conference in Lagos on Wednesday, Salako criticised the commission for its track record and raised concerns over potential manipulation in the upcoming polls.
“I don’t have confidence in LASIEC to conduct a free and fair election,” Salako said. “But… we can actually force them to do the right thing. There is a way that someone may not want to do the right thing, but when you put pressure on them… they can do the right thing.”
Despite his doubts about LASIEC’s ability to run a transparent election, Salako remained hopeful that sustained pressure from party members and the electorate could push the commission to adhere to its own guidelines.
Salako also weighed in on the current factional crisis within the Labour Party, which has complicated the submission of party candidates to LASIEC. While some local governments have candidates, others do not, as the party grapples with a split between multiple factions, including the ones led by Julius Abure, Lamidi Apapa, and Governor Alex Otti-backed caretaker committee.
Salako slammed LASIEC’s letter to INEC seeking clarification on which of the three factions of the Labour Party should be recognised, describing the situation as an example of “institutions working against themselves.”
“You go to your INEC portal. Who is recognised there as the chairman of the party? If INEC does not recognise Abure, then they should remove the name of Abure from their portal,” he said. “But you know, Abure has been there for a while.”
The spokesperson argued that any confusion surrounding the party’s leadership should be resolved by INEC, which officially recognises Abure as the national chairman. According to Salako, LASIEC should align with INEC’s position and accept Abure’s faction as the legitimate Labour Party leadership.
Read also: Why Abure can’t be removed as LP chairman except through congress – Ekong
“How long will it take?” he asked, referring to INEC’s delay in resolving the internal leadership dispute. “Until INEC takes a position and officially replaces the name on the website, there is no point arguing about who to submit the names to LASIEC. Right now, INEC has Julius Abure as the chairman of the Labour Party, and anybody coming from that name should be recognised.”
Asked whether he supports Abure’s leadership or that of Lamidi Apapa, Salako maintained a neutral stance, citing the lack of clear institutional interpretation of the court’s judgment.
“I’m not a lawyer,” he said. “Let the institutions in charge, like the NJC, come out and tell us what the ruling means. For now, I don’t know.”
