By Abisola THOMPSON
The Speaker Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA), Mr Mudashiru Obasa, has advised the Federal Government to look inward and change the pattern of voting to Option A4 system used in the 1993 general elections.
Obasa disclosed this after casting his vote at 1.15p.m. at Ward 05, Unit 19 of Agege Constituency 01.
“I have always believed that we need to return to the old system that will work for our country and one that our people will understand better.
“I think we should go back to what we used to during the 1993 general election. It was very cheap and straight forward, clean and plain.
“If you consider the amount of money that we had spent on this process, you will see that it is wasteful.
“Today it is the challenge of card reader; tomorrow it is allowance for INEC workers and next tomorrow is transportation and logistics.
“So, we should look inward and adopt a system that will perfect our democracy,” he said.
According to him, the process: beginning with huge sums of money, number of security agencies and transportation of electoral materials to the polling units all are expensive.
Another lawmaker, Mr Rasheed Makinde, representing Ifako-Ijaye Constituency 02, also faulted the lateness of INEC’s officials to his constituency.
Makinde who voted at 11.53 a.m., at Unit 003 in ward 8 said that the officials came to the polling units by 10.45 a.m.
“Some of the voters had been here since 8 a.m., to exercise their franchise but the INEC officials were not on ground.
“That is why some people volunteered to ring bell to the residents to come out to cast their vote,” he said.
Mr Oluyinka Ogundimu, another member from the Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) representing Agege Constituency 2, also expressed his dissatisfaction over the delay in the commencement of the election.
“The process started very late, I learnt that INEC in this local government had problem with its ad hoc staff.
“After discussions, persuasions and negotiations, the ad hoc staff members were able to come out to perform their duties,’’ he said.——NAN
