The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has stated that it could only participate in 20 constitutionally recognised Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Lagos State, due to a Supreme Court judgment
Speaking on Saturday, George Ashiru, Lagos State Chairman of the party, said the party’s decision was guided by the apex court’s 2024 ruling that upheld the autonomy and constitutional recognition of Nigeria’s 774 LGAs, including the 20 in Lagos.
“In line with the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy, we chose to focus our campaigns and field candidates only in the 20 constitutionally recognised local government areas,” Ashiru explained.
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) is conducting elections across the state’s 20 LGAs and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs). A document released by LASIEC revealed that 15 of the 19 political parties that initially expressed interest in the elections tendered final candidate lists.
Ashiru noted that the party had weighed the option of pulling out of the polls, but was persuaded by members and aspirants with strong grassroots support in specific LGAs.
“In the beginning, we were against participation, but our members and aspirants insisted on participating, especially those who felt that they had strength in some areas,” he said.
“At the end of this election, people will rate the commission because, ideally, parties win in their areas of strength,” he said.
