ADC Fields Candidates in Lagos LG Polls Citing Supreme Court Ruling on Autonom

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has confirmed that it is fielding candidates in the 20 constitutionally recognised Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Saturday’s local government elections in Lagos State, in adherence to a landmark Supreme Court judgment on local government autonomy.

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) is conducting the elections across the 20 LGAs and the 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the state. According to LASIEC, only 15 of the 19 political parties that initially expressed interest in the exercise successfully submitted candidate lists ahead of the polls.

Speaking to journalists, the Lagos State Chairman of ADC, Mr George Ashiru, explained that the party’s participation in the election is in line with the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment, which reaffirmed the constitutional recognition of Nigeria’s 774 LGAs, including the 20 in Lagos.

“In line with the Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy, we chose to focus our campaigns and field candidates only in the 20 constitutionally recognised local government areas,” Ashiru said.

He noted that although the party had initial reservations about participating, it ultimately respected the wishes of members and aspirants who believed they had strong support in certain areas.

“In the beginning, we were against participation, but our members and aspirants insisted on contesting, especially those who felt they have a good chance in some wards and LGAs. The party chose to abide by the constitution and focus our participation on the recognised councils,” he added.

Ashiru also urged LASIEC to ensure a transparent, credible, and impartial electoral process. “At the end of this election, people will rate the commission. Ideally, political parties should win in their areas of strength, and LASIEC must ensure that this is allowed to happen,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) remains the most widely represented party in the election, fielding candidates across all 57 local councils and 376 wards.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is contesting in 45 councils and 259 wards, while the Labour Party has fielded candidates in 22 chairmanship and 130 councillorship positions. The Zenith Labour Party is also participating with six chairmanship and 21 councillorship candidates.

Other political parties listed by LASIEC with approved candidates include Accord; African Action Alliance (AAA); Allied People’s Movement (APM); All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); Social Democratic Party (SDP); National Rescue Movement (NRM); Young Progressives Party (YPP); Youth Party (YP); Action Peoples Party (APP); and the ADC.

The election outcome is expected to test the strength of Lagos-based political parties and the credibility of LASIEC as the state electoral body.