Election was pre-rigged, ballot boxes stuffed before voting — LP

• The LP alleged LASIEC officials showed up at polling units with completed result sheets before voting even began.
• The party asked LASIEC to cancel the election and conduct a credible, transparent and people-driven re-run.

The Labour Party (LP) has described the Lagos local government election as a sham and a clear red flag.

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission conducted the election on Saturday, with the All Progressives Congress winning all 57 chairmanship seats and 375 out of 376 councillorship positions.

Ken Asogwa, spokesperson to Nenadi Usman, the Labour Party’s acting national chair, issued a statement on Monday condemning the process.

Asogwa said the exercise signalled what Nigerians should expect in the 2027 general election.

He described the outcome as alarming and “unprecedented in Nigeria’s electoral history.”

He accused the APC of manipulating the process with the help of electoral officials.

“The farce that played out in Lagos state on Saturday, July 12, 2025, under the guise of local government elections, has once again exposed the APC as a party allergic to democratic principles and due process,” he said.

“The brazen self-allocation of all 57 council chairmanship seats and 375 out of 376 councillorship positions to the APC is not only shameless — it is unprecedented in Nigeria’s electoral history.”

Asogwa alleged that LASIEC officials arrived at some polling units with pre-filled result sheets.

He said Labour Party agents across the state reported widespread pre-stuffing of ballot boxes with thumbprinted ballot papers.

“While no one expects electoral decency from the APC, we had hoped they would at least pretend. Even that pretense is now gone,” he said.

The party urged its supporters in Lagos to remain calm and not resort to violence despite what it described as provocation.

It called on LASIEC to annul the election and conduct a new one that reflects the true wishes of the people.

“Lagos, known as the Centre of Excellence, should not be reduced to a theatre of electoral absurdity,” the statement said.

“What happens in Lagos reverberates across the country. Labour Party will not be silent.”