LAGOS State residents are making final preparations for the governorship and House of Assembly election, which will hold tomorrow, Saturday, March 18, with many residents boasting they are ready for the poll.
The ICIR reporter moved around parts of the state on Friday and observed that economic activities went smoothly, though many residents were apprehensive about the election.
Places the reporter visited included Ketu, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi and Ogba.
Posters of major candidates contesting the governorship seat littered bridges and other locations in the state.
The major candidates seeking the Alausa, Ikeja governor’s seat are the incumbent Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP), and AbdulAzeez Adediran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), about seven million voters are in the state. The state tops others in the number of perrmanent voter cards (PVCs) collected in the country.
Voters will file to the 4,861 polling units in the state, the highest in the country, to elect the governor and members of the state House of Assembly that will lead them in the next four years.
The ICIR noted that three activities stood out in places visited by its reporter on Friday.
Foodstuff retailers sold more wares as residents stormed markets to stock their homes with foodstuff.
At the Oniwaya Market in Agege, a foodstuff market, residents were seen buying foodstuff as the sellers beamed with smiles.
Fuel stations witnessed higher patronage in the state. According to motorists interviewed, they decided to fuel their tanks should there be any eventuality.
Banks and other outlets where residents could get money saw more crowds than they had seen after the presidential poll, but there was only a little cash to dispense.
Some banks dispensed N2,000 to customers who filed in queues in the scorching sun, while many others did not have the cash to give.
At one of the new-generation banks in Ogba, people who had accounts with the bank got N5,000 each from the automated teller machine (ATM), while those without an account with the bank got N2,000.
“At least, I can have something to hold on to in the next few days,” said one of the residents, who got two pieces of the old N1,000 notes from the bank ATM.
Many residents said the banks in the state didn’t have enough notes to issue, despite the compliance with President Muhammadu Buhari’s government of the Supreme Court ruling that nullified the naira redesign, which had prompted currency scarcity nationwide since February 10.
The ICIR also saw a beehive of activities at the Ikeja Computer Village. “I came to repair my phone here. I must watch all events as they unfold during and after the election,” Kelechi Ifunnaya, a resident, said.
Speaking with The ICIR, a resident, Abiola Yusuf, said of his preparation for the election, “My expectations are not high. I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the elections — including the recently concluded presidential election.
“For a long time, from one administration to the other, it has been failure upon failure and disappointment upon disappointment from our governments. Consequently, I’m not enthusiastic about it. But, I’m going out to fulfil my civic responsibility tomorrow.
“My preparation is not borne out of enthusiasm but out of fulfilling my civic responsibility.”
Another resident, Oladimeji Awelewa, who spoke with The ICIR from Ikorodu, said there were fuel queues in the area.
According to him, the official petrol price in the state was N190, but some fuel stations were selling for N250 or more.
Yet another resident, Franklin Adebayo, said he was ready to vote. “I voted at the presidential election. I will still vote in the governorship and House and Assembly elections. My message to Lagosians is that people should go and vote for the candidate of their choice.
“People should vote their conscience. There should be no rancour, regardless of the current apprehension in the state,” he stated.
The ICIR reported how the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate defeated the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, of the APC, and the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the state, in election conducted on February 25.
On March 16, The ICIR also reported how the state had been tension-soaked as the three leading candidates battling for the governorship seat get set for the election with the state residents.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ [email protected]