Lagos local govment elections: Wetin you need to know and why e matter

Over seven million registered voters across Lagos on Saturday go vote to elect pipo wey go lead di 20 Local Govment Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), including councillors for wards across the state.

Voting dey expected to take place for 13,325 polling units wey dey spread across 376 electoral wards for di state.

Di Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (Lasiec) say dem dey ready for di polls and say dem don significantly improve access to di polling units.

As e be di case for recent state and national elections, Lasiec go conduct voter accreditation using di Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), wey be device wey dey verify voters' identity wit di use of fingerprint or facial recognition and e dey ensure real-time result transmission from polling units.

Di state police authorities don also announce no movement for "vehicles throughout Lagos state" from 3am to 3pm on Saturday.

But why dis election dey important and wetin you need to know?

Why Lagos State local election matter?

As di third tier of govment, winners of di elections go oversee delivery of essential services wey dey closer to di people.

Na their job to ensure di well-being of di pipo for grassroots through provision of primary education, primary health centres, marketplaces, good inner roads, parks and proper sanitation and refuse management.

But over di years, state govments don take over dis roles.

Local govment elections typically dey organised by State Independent Electoral Commissions (Siecs), wey dey perate under different arrangement compared to di national elections wey na di Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) dey organise am.

How much power LGAs get?

Last year, Supreme Court for Nigeria deliver ogbonge judgement wey give local govments financial autonomy.

Di judgement stop state govments from collecting and withholding councils' allocations from di federation account and order di accountant-general of di federation to pay dem directly.

But one year on, state govments through their governors don kontinu to hold control over di councils' coffers.

Since di Supreme Court ruling of last July, over N3.408 trillion accrued to di 774 councils from the federation account na im dem don pay state and local governments' joint account, according to one analysis by Daily Trust newspaper.

Di total amount include distributable revenue from different sources, including; statutory revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), Exchange Difference and Solid Mineral revenue.

Political interference, not enough funding for SIECs, issues of autonomy and transparency and voter apathy na some of di challenges observers don identify as wetin dey reduce di effectiveness of local govments.

Who dey ballot and who dey likely to win?

19 political parties na dem dey registered on di ballot wey voters with valid Permanent Voter Card (PVC) fit choose from.

Past elections since 2014 show say di ruling party for di state na im dey almost always win every seat wey dey up for grab for local govment elections, according to Shine your Eye, wey be initiative of advocacy group Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria).

Since 1999, one party, in various forms, don run Lagos state and na dem don win virtually all local, state, and federal elections for di state.

Di All Progressives Congress (APC), or di party wey later become di APC after e repeatedly change dia name from (AD, AC, ACN before APC), na dem don mostly control di state since di return of democracy. Di APC don defeat every opposition for di state elections in di last two decades.

Pipo go turn out to vote?

Turnout for elections in Nigeria always dey generally low. Na just above one quarter of eligible voters vote for di 2023 presidential elections.

Past local govment elections for Nigeria dey even lower.

Turnout during di last local govment elections wey dem hold for Lagos for 2021 bin dey just around 11%, despite say eligible voters reach over 6.5 million, according to state authorities.

Di cause of wetin dey make pipo no come out come vote dey attributed to fear of violence wey dey happun during di polls and civic rebellion due to failed campaign promises after previous polls.

Moreso, many see local elections as less important compared to national polls, leading to lower media attention and public engagement.

Also before now, many state govnors dey appoint local govment caretaker committee chairmen dem, somtin wey even don make many no know say na di pipo suppose vote LGA chairmen dem into office.

Chairman of Lasiec, Retired Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile, say bye-elections go dey for "anywhere wey dem snatch ballot box during di polls".