The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has cast his vote in Saturday’s chairmanship and councillorship elections in the Surulere Local Government Area of the state.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives cast his vote at Lagos PU 014 on Elizabeth Fowler Memorial High School in the Adeniran Ogunsanya area of Surulere.
Gbajabiamila arrived at the polling unit, which has a total of 669 registered voters, at exactly 12:28pm with a retinue of supporters and some government officials.
Security presence at the polling unit increased with his arrival. Gbajabiamila cast his vote at exactly 12:31pm.
Speaking after casting his vote, Gbajabiamila described the election as free and fair but lamented the generally low voter turnout.
Gbajabiamila said, “So far, I’ve seen peace, I’ve seen quiet, I’ve seen free and fair election. A little bit disappointed about the turnout which is where we need to work on. There is general low turnout from what I’ve seen.
“Perhaps because people don’t understand fully the importance of local government elections, which is even more important than any other election. We need to sensitise our people. We need to educate them about the importance of grassroot government.
“But so far, it’s peaceful and quiet. It’s free and fair. There is no skirmishes anywhere and that’s what we all want for any election.”
He said adoption of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) by the opposition coalition is a welcome development and good for democracy, adding that Nigeria is not a one-party state.
“It’s a welcome development with the coalition. It’s not the first time we’re seeing this. It’s a welcome development. In every democracy, we must have some level of opposition otherwise we’ll run into a one-party state. But I’m not sure where it would go,” he said.
Asked about his view on the implementation of the LG autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court exactly one year ago, Gbajabiamila said it is a work in progress and it would be perfected with time.
Gbajabiamila said, “The ruling was welcome by everybody. It’s the execution of that ruling and the implementation of that ruling that we are still trying to dot the Is and cross the Ts.
Source: Channels TV
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