Late arrival of electoral materials and officials on Saturday disrupted the smooth commencement of the All Progressives Congress, APC, House of Representatives primaries in parts of Oshodi/Isolo and Surulere areas of Lagos State, forcing party members to wait for several hours before accreditation and voting could begin.
In several affected wards, party faithful gathered early at polling centres but were left stranded as the exercise failed to commence at the scheduled time.
At Ejigbo Ward F5 and Isolo Ward F1 in Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency, accreditation and voting experienced significant delays despite the large turnout recorded at the venues.
As of 11:30 a.m., voting had yet to begin at Ward F5 in Ejigbo, while the process was still stalled at Ward F1 in Isolo by 12:20 p.m.
One of the party members at Ward F, Salau Samson, expressed frustration over the delay, saying he had become discouraged after waiting for hours without any progress.
“I am exhausted. I have been here since morning and nothing is happening yet. I mean this is 1 p.m. and nothing yet. How does one explain this,” he said.
According to him, several members had already left the venue angrily due to the prolonged delay.
Speaking on the situation, Olanrewaju Akinbowale, Director-General of one of the aspirants, said the exercise was originally expected to commence by 8:00 a.m.
Although he declined to speculate on the cause of the delay, Akinbowale noted that party members remained willing to wait patiently for the arrival of officials and election materials.
“This is the first primary election the APC is conducting ahead of the forthcoming elections,” he said.
An APC chieftain in Ejigbo, Habeeb Anibaba, also stated that the ideal arrangement would have been for voting to begin at 8:00 a.m., suggesting that party leaders might still be resolving certain issues related to the process.
He, however, expressed optimism that turnout would improve once the exercise eventually commenced.
At Ward F1 in Isolo, located at Ile Iwe Meta, LSDPC Field, a journalist observed a low turnout of members, with no election officials, tables, or voting materials on ground at the time of filing the report, although security personnel had already been deployed to the venue.
Similar delays were also recorded in Surulere Federal Constituency I, where party members reportedly waited for several hours across different wards before accreditation and voting eventually commenced.
A voter at Ward G in Surulere, Ruth Adewale, described the situation as disappointing, lamenting that many party members had become frustrated and left the venue.
“We have been here since morning waiting for officials to arrive, but they are still not here. Some have left and I am not sure they are returning. This is unfair,” she said.
At Adeniran Ogunsanya Ward G2, the Ward Chairman, Alhaja Bilikis Aremu, appealed for patience among party members, attributing the delay to logistical challenges.
She noted that the ward is regarded as the political base of the Chief of Staff to the President and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
“We should be patient, all will be well. This is a premier ward. This is Femi Gbajabiamila’s ward and the people here are lovers of Gbajabiamila. There is one voice here anytime the election starts,” she said.
Other wards where delays were reported included Iponri, Adeniran Ogunsanya, Gbaja/Stadium, Shitta/Ogunlana, Yaba/Ojuelegba and Akinhanmi Cole.
The Ward Chairman of Shitta/Ogunlana, Laide Aina, confirmed that electoral officials had not arrived as of the time of filing the report.
“The electoral officials are yet to arrive and accreditation has not started,” she said.
Meanwhile, APC Ward Chairman for Akinhanmi Cole, Bayo Gafarr, disclosed that accreditation in his ward was eventually concluded at about 12:20 p.m.
Earlier, the Chairman of the APC House of Representatives Primary Election Committee in Lagos State, Saleh Yipmong, had charged electoral officers to ensure transparency, fairness and compliance with party guidelines during the conduct of the exercise.
Addressing officials at the APC Secretariat in Ikeja before deployment, Yipmong stressed the need for integrity and equal treatment for all aspirants, warning against actions capable of bringing the party into disrepute.
In several locations, election officials and party agents reportedly waited for hours before electoral materials and officers eventually arrived to begin the process.