Over 7 million registered voters in Lagos State are heading to the polls today, Saturday, 12 July 2025, to elect chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, and councillors across the state’s 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

The elections come exactly one year after a landmark Supreme Court ruling reinforced local government autonomy in Nigeria.

Lagos, often considered Nigeria’s commercial capital and political bellwether, is home to President Bola Tinubu, a former state governor who remains an influential political figure.

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has confirmed that 15 out of 19 registered political parties are participating in the elections. According to LASIEC Chairperson, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile, no party was barred from contesting.

Unlike national polls, LASIEC will not deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). Instead, a hybrid of manual and limited electronic processes will be used.

Justice Okikiolu-Ighile acknowledged that low voter turnout has historically plagued local elections but expressed hope that recent voter outreach would boost participation.

“We have done the groundwork; now we encourage Lagosians to come out and vote peacefully,” she said.

In the 2021 polls, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) swept all 57 chairmanship seats and won 375 of 377 councillorship positions. This year, opposition parties including the PDP, Labour Party, and African Democratic Congress have vowed to challenge APC’s dominance.

Elections will take place in 13,325 polling units across 376 wards, covering both the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs, with high-profile candidates such as Abdulganiyu Obasa—son of the Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker—contesting key positions.