By ADEYEMI ADELEYE

The Labour Party (LP) in Lagos says its legal team is set to challenge the process, conduct and outcome of the recent council elections in court.

LP Chairperson, Pastor Dayo Ekong, disclosed this during a news conference held at the party’s secretariat on Friday in Lagos.

She said the party would not remain silent in the face of alleged electoral malpractices and irregularities witnessed during the exercise.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that LASIEC conducted elections on July 12 into 57 chairmanship and 376 councillorship positions in the state.

NAN also reports that the APC secured all 57 chairmanship seats and won 375 of the 376 councillorship seats contested.

Ekong said: “The Lagos council elections were not democratic. They were a descent into darkness, designed to subvert the people’s will.

“It was not a contest of ideas, but a blatant attack on the electoral process and democratic norms.

“These irregularities were not glitches; they were deliberate tools used to suppress the electorate and distort the outcome.”

She vowed that LP would use all legal and peaceful means to challenge what she described as a sham election.

“We owe this to every disenfranchised voter, every citizen silenced or intimidated, and all Nigerians who still hope for a better nation,” she said.

Ekong added the legal team was compiling evidence to support their case and urged the judiciary to meet the demands of justice.

She listed alleged malpractices: voter inducement, thuggery, fake accreditation, ballot stuffing, disenfranchisement, and missing logos at polling units.

Also mentioned were the absence of election officials and materials at several polling centres across the state.

Ekong said she personally witnessed these issues in Eti-Osa, Amuwo-Odofin and Ajeromi council areas, alongside reports from other local councils.

According to her, the entire process and outcome show the system requires a total overhaul for fairness and credibility.

She advocated the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), saying their functions should go to the national electoral body, INEC.

Ekong urged the National Assembly to protect grassroots democracy, saying SIECs were undermining local governance and democratic integrity.

She said: “This daylight robbery is eroding public confidence, as seen by the low voter turnout during the exercise.

“When votes no longer count, and impunity thrives, citizens lose hope. That is a dangerous path for any democracy.”

Ekong insisted LP would have won several councils if the election had been free and fair, due to the popularity of its candidates.

She said the party was committed to fighting for justice, truth, and a Nigeria governed in the interest of its people.

“We are going to court because it is the right and responsible course of action,” she affirmed.

On the party’s leadership in Lagos, Ekong asked the public to disregard those parading as factional leaders.

She described such individuals as impostors and political jobbers, saying their behaviour was both shameful and divisive.

“Lagos Labour Party is not for sale. We cannot be bought, bullied, or taken over.

“Under my legitimate leadership, we remain united and committed to reclaiming the mandate freely given by the people,” she stated. (NAN)

• PHOTO: Pastor Dayo Ekong, the Labour Party Chairperson, Lagos State (second left), and other LP leaders in the state at a news conference on Friday in Lagos