YOUTHS PROTEST IN LAGOS DURING THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

On Sunday, youths from Lagos who were excluded from voting in the just completed presidential and national assembly elections protested in front of one of the collation sites at the Lagos State Model Nursery and Primary School in Marina, Lagos.

They claimed that the absence of an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) representative from their Polling Units (PU) on February 25 during the polls had resulted in their disenfranchisement.

They screamed and sung songs of togetherness, "We must Vote."

To maintain safety, order, and peace in the region, security personnel from the army and police were stationed on the ground.

Elections allegedly did not take place in Polling Unit 064, Ward 6, United Estate, Sangotedo, according to one of the outraged youngsters who requested to be called Charles.

"We did not see any INEC official till now that I am here. What we want now is that we want to vote; even though my candidate does not win, I know that I will justify my feeling in my own fatherland.

"I want INEC to go there, allow us to vote; this is our era; we the youth must take our course," he said.

Henry Mba, another disgruntled adolescent, claimed that although the primary school where the polls were to be held had ten voting stations, only seven of them were actually used.

He claimed that the three units with the fewest votes had the most voters.

"Voters were present at those polling units till very late in the night, through to early hours of this morning, hoping to still cast their votes," Mba said.

Mr. Olubankole Wellington, also known as Banky W, who was on hand to help the kids cool off, requested INEC to formally address the stakeholders on the issues brought up by the youths in a statement to the media.

In the federal constituency of Lagos State, Banky W is the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) House of Representative candidate.

He said: "The days are gone when Nigerians will just sit by and allow people in authority to do whatever they want without being held accountable.

"So, what you are seeing is a community that is intending to hold the people in authority accountable, to allow them to exercise their civil rights, vote for who they want.

"Also, I think it is only fair, and at the end of the day, even if they are not ready to do it today, they should come out and address the people and let us know when they will vote."

There was no INEC representative present to comment.