Following the election exercise that began almost 48 hours ago, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been re-elected in Lagos State with a total of 762,134 votes. He defeated Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party, who scored 312,329 votes, and Abdul-Azeez Adediran aka Jandor, with 62,449 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the results at the commission’s state collation centre, despite the LP collation agent condemning the exercise.
The election was marred by voter suppression, ethnic discrimination, political thuggery, and physical attacks on voters, electoral staff, and security personnel. However, state Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, reassured Lagosians that security personnel deployed for the election were responding promptly to the cases, with “a lot of arrests” and “recoveries” made.
In his acceptance speech after INEC’s declaration, Sanwo-Olu recognized the divisive rhetoric that became commonplace in the lead-up to the polls and spoke out against identity politics. He extended a hand of fellowship to his fellow contestants and urged Lagosians to come together to rebuild the capacity, competence, and experience of the city. He emphasized that religion and ethnicity should not divide the people of Lagos, and the city will emerge bigger, stronger, and better.