The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos has said that no single result from the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) has arrived at the State Collation Centre hours after the polls ended in Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.
This was made known by the Lagos State Collation Officer and Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA). Professor Adenike Oladiji, during the official opening of the centre for final collation of election, results in Lagos State by Saturday midnight.
Oladiji, who described the collation as a serious assignment, said that the centre was still awaiting results from all the 20 LGAs as of midnight.
INEC to follow laid-out procedures
Professor Oladiji said, ”This is a serious national assignment that has brought us together here.
- ”It is also an assignment that is of international importance, and that explains why we have international observers here with us.
- ”Our job is simple. If we follow the well-laid-out procedures of INEC, we know it is very simple and easy.
- ”It is a call to duty, a national assignment and we hope we will not fail our country. As we can all see, the result is not here yet.
- ”So that we won’t keep ourselves just waiting to expect the results, we are proposing that we reconvene tomorrow (Sunday) at 10. am.
- ”We know that by that time some of our results will be here and we will be able to process them all in this hall.”
Speaking earlier at the occasion, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Lagos State, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, who commended the state collation officer, said that collation was at various stages in the state.
He said that in the end, Nigerians will be happy that INEC has done a lot to ensure that people are allowed to vote in spite of a few hitches.
- The REC said, ”We want to assure Nigerians that their votes will count.’’
Why this matters
- The clarification from INEC officials on the results of elections in Lagos is quite important as well as informing the unsuspecting members of the public to be cautious and mindful of most of the unverified election results flying around on social media.
- Meanwhile, journalists, observers, and other stakeholders are awaiting the commencement of the collation on Sunday.
- The collation of results was still at various stages, some at the registration areas, federal constituency, senatorial district, and local government collation centers.
