The Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC in Lagos State has faulted the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, over the release of guidelines for the 2025 Local Government election in the state.
IPAC, in a statement jointly issued by its Chairperson, Mrs. Temilade Akinade, and its Public Relations Officer, Mr. George Ashiru, on Saturday, said the commission erred in the manner it released the guidelines.
LASIEC had announced July 12 as the date for the election in 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas.
Reacting to this, IPAC—the umbrella body of all 19 registered political parties in Lagos—criticized LASIEC for disregarding established communication protocols in the release of the election guidelines.
The council also condemned the commission for failing to engage political parties on important issues related to the election before releasing the guidelines.
IPAC accused LASIEC of operating in secrecy regarding many aspects of the electoral process.
The council stated: “Critical questions and issues remain unresolved as regards the appropriate interpretation of the Supreme Court’s pronouncements on LG autonomy and how that will impact the 37 LCDAs established by the state government.
“IPAC only recently learned that a revised LASIEC law empowering the agency to conduct executive elections into 57 LG/LCDAs was approved on Jan. 9 and signed into law on Jan. 10 by the governor.
READ ALSO: Lagos by-election: Communities employ town criers to mobilise voters
“This took IPAC by surprise. Such critical legislation should be in the public domain. The information was not made public on any platform and copies of the new law are yet to be made available to IPAC for distribution to political parties.”
The council further noted that the new LASIEC board, led by Retired Justice Mobolanle Okikiolu-Ighile, had not fostered a transparent relationship with IPAC nor provided a platform for political parties to contribute to the planning of the election.
According to IPAC, the new board has only met with political party representatives once since January, and that meeting was initiated at IPAC’s request.
The council stated that LASIEC should have organized a series of meetings with political parties to adequately explain the provisions of the new law and how they affect the upcoming election.
“LASIEC has a lot to learn from INEC in Lagos State about the need for continuous engagement, communication, and transparency in order to have a smooth, free, and fair election.
“The constant late release of guidelines close to the beginning of the electoral cycle and the lack of ongoing engagement with political parties is an error.
“This will lead political parties and their members to misinterpret LASIEC’s actions as leaning toward a predetermined outcome,” IPAC concluded.
NAN
