Summons LASIEC officials over preparations

Lagos State House of Assembly has summoned the Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile, and the commissioners of the commissionto appear before it to provide detailed explanations regarding their plans and preparations for the forthcoming local council elections scheduled for July.

During a plenary session, yesterday, concerns were raised by the lawmakers regarding the perceived rushed nature of LASIEC’s processes and the inadequacy of the released electoral guidelines.

Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Petitions, Human Rights and LASIEC, Oladipo Ajomale, voiced strong reservations, stating that LASIEC is just rushing the process and that the released guidelines are not comprehensive enough to address the concerns of the people regarding the election.

He further emphasised that numerous unanswered questions from the public necessitated the commission’s appearance.

“The Nigerian constitution grants us the authority to summon LASIEC to clarify issues concerning the upcoming elections. We are unaware of the electoral method they intend to employ, whether it’s BVAS or the old methods,” he said. He also raised concerns about the hiring of ad-hoc staff and the utilisation of allocated funds.

Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Alimosho Constituency II, Kehinde Joseph, stressed the importance of accountability and transparency, saying: “They must come and explain how they spent taxpayers’ money.”

Also, Solomon Bonu, the member representing Badagry Constituency 1, acknowledged the opposition party’s complaints and lamentedinadequate voter education.

Speaker of the House, MudashiruObasa, insisted that LASIEC must provide a comprehensive briefing on their preparations.
He, therefore, formally directed the Clerk of the House to summon the LASIEC Chairman and commissioners to appear before the Assembly to clarify their plans and preparations for the elections.