LAGOS PANORAMA: FACING FACTS with TAYO ADERINOLA
The Chairman Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), Hon Justice Ayotunde Philips (Rtd.), need little or no introduction. On the 29th June 2016 the former High Court Judge was sworn in as the Chairman of the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) and in May 2017 she was elected as a member of the FIFA ETHICS COMMITTEE (ADJUDICTORY CHAMBER).
The Member Board of Trustees Association of Multi-Door Courthouses of Nigeria and Member of the Board of Directors of Lagos Court of Arbitration obliged the Editor/Publisher Lagos Panorama ‘Tayo Aderinola an incisive interview on the forthcoming Lagos Local Government and Local Council Development Area (LCDA) elections for the Chairmanship and councillorship candidates scheduled by the state electoral commission for 24th July, 2021.
Please do enjoy an excerpt from the exclusive incisive interview on all you need to know about the coming Lagos Council Polls:
LAGOS PANORAMA: Considering the fact that in all the 36 states of the federation, the ruling parties always record hundred percent victory in every local government election, hence, causing voter apathy, what are you doing to ensure the trust of voters and the massive turnout of Lagosians in the forthcoming July 24th Lagos Council Elections?
Hon Justice Ayotunde Philips (Rtd.): First of all, they don’t record massive hundred percent victory in all the Local Governments and LCDAs, that’s not true. It’s true however that last elections they won all the chairmanship seats, but the councillorship seats were won by other parties too, PDP, Accord, Labour Party, and a few parties
This time around, we are doing our best to reach out to the electorates, to sensitize them with the fact that the election would hold on the 24th of July.
However, we were going to start work in earnest in August last year, but COVID came and there was a lockdown, most of the civil servants could not come work, immediately after COVID, when that one was subsiding EndSARS came, last year we just couldn’t get anything done. This year is the election year, we’re trying and we have started meetings with all the relevant government organs that can assist, very soon you’ll see a lot of activities toward that.
Is there any plan to postpone the Lagos Council Election, because it was reported in some social media platforms over the weekend?
No, not to the best of my knowledge, I know nothing about it.
What’s your take on the Lagos State House of Assembly’s amendment to LASIEC law, empowering the governor to extend the commission’s tenure?
Yes, it became very necessary in the sense that, actually, today mark the fifth year of our tenure, ideally, it should be the end of the tenure, but since elections are imminent and we are conducting the elections, it became mandatory that there should be no crack in our tenure, so to make it seamless, not to leave room for any technicality, so the amendment is well taken.
Recently the commission’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Tope Ojo, issued a press release that debunked a story published in the Punch Newspapers with the headline “LASIEC LISTS LOSERS OF APC LG PRIMARY AS WINNERS” on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, alleging that some winners of the Local Government Chairmen and Councillorship Primaries were surreptitiously replaced in the lists published by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC). Can you please elucidate on this?
That allegation against us was so unfair and so untrue and it goes to the integrity of this commission, we don’t choose candidates for the political parties. In fact, if we should even dare to interfere in that process, we have lost all self-respect, all integrity, and all ability to even hold positions we hold here. All we do is to receive the list of the parties after the primaries, which we just observe and we paste the lists as we see it. It is not for us to touch the lists. It will be most incompetent of us to even tamper with any list or anybody’s name. it’s a very unfair accusation and I expected PUNCH to at least phone us here or send a reporter here like they normally do, to find out whether it’s true before they published it. If you go through the LASIEC laws you’ll see, our duty is there, our duty doesn’t include picking or choosing candidates for parties, the parties are supreme, they choose their candidates. Even the court cannot interfere in the running of the parties. The Supreme Court had said it many times, it’s an intraparty affair, keep out of it. They have their constitution, they’ve their election guidelines, they have the whole machinery to settle every dispute that has thrown up from the primaries, so it’s very unfair for PUNCH and that’s why a very strong-worded press statement was issued by us. I have not heard anything since then. I am expecting an apology from PUNCH.
That brings me to my next question, recently the Chairman Eti-Osa East Hon Olufunmi Olatunji, unfortunately, passed on, after winning the All-Progressives Congress (APC) primary against his only contender Azeez Ismail, what’s the expectation required to replace the party’s candidate?
The party will take care of that, they’ll probably look into their constitution and the guidelines to produce another candidate to replace him, it’s very unfortunate, we pray for the peaceful reposed of his soul. It’s a party matter, we can’t interfere. They probably have the party machinery to take care of that.
Don’t you think it has created a lacuna, considering the fact that the time to put in a letter of intent has closed as we may juxtapose the situation with the Kogi State Governorship election of Audu / Faleke and Bello situation?
Like I said it’s a party matter, I wouldn’t even want to phantom how they will handle it, the party is supreme when it comes to choosing candidates and they’ll do what they feel is necessary.
On a final note, is LASIEC planning to make use of the card reader in the forthcoming Lagos Council election?
Yes, we are using card readers everywhere, we’re working with INEC, in fact, my officers are going to meet with INEC this afternoon.
Wow! This will surely make the headline as it will give the election credibility.
Please in one minute, use this medium to send words of encouragement to Lagosians as we look forth to the 24th July Lagos Council Elections?
Please come out and vote, your vote is important, your vote is your right, you have no right to complain about the leadership if you don’t participate in the leadership of your choice. It is important therefore for all members of the electorate to come out on the 24th of July 2021 and vote for the candidate of your choice. God bless you as you come.
Thank you so much, Ma’am, it’s really a great honour for having you on Facing Facts, a Lagos Panorama incisive interview segment.
