By Mike Odiakose, Abuja

The nineteen registered political parties in Lagos State operating under the auspices of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) have criticised the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) for its handling of the recently released guidelines for the 2025 local government elections.

In a joint statement issued at the weekend by IPAC Chairperson, Emilade Akinade, and the council’s Public Relations Officer, George Ashiru, the group faulted LASIEC for allegedly bypassing proper communication protocols.

LASIEC has fixed July 12, 2025, for elections into the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas in the state.

Reacting to the announcement, IPAC said LASIEC failed to engage political parties on key issues before unveiling the guidelines, accusing the commission of operating in secrecy.

“Critical questions and issues remain unresolved as regards the appropriate interpretation of the Supreme Court’s pronouncements on LG autonomy and how that will impact the 37 LCDAs established by the state government.

“IPAC only recently learned that a revised LASIEC law empowering the agency to conduct executive elections into 57 LG/LCDAs was approved on January 9 and signed into law on January 10 by the governor.

“This took IPAC by surprise. Such critical legislation should be in the public domain. The information was not made public on any platform and copies of the new law are yet to be made available to IPAC for distribution to political parties.”

The council criticised the new LASIEC Board, chaired by retired Justice Mobolanle Okikiola-Ighinle, for failing to build a transparent and collaborative relationship with the commission or offer a platform for IPAC to contribute to election planning.

IPAC noted that since January, the board had only held a single meeting with political party representatives—and only after IPAC initiated the request.

The group stressed that LASIEC ought to have convened multiple meetings with political parties to clearly explain the implications of the new electoral law ahead of the polls.

It stated: “LASIEC has a lot to learn from INEC in Lagos State about the need for continuous engagement, communication, and transparency in order to have a smooth, free and fair election.

“The constant late release of guidelines close to when the electoral cycle begins and the lack of continued engagement with the political parties is an error.

“This will make political parties and their members misinterpret the actions of LASIEC as driving in the direction of a predetermined outcome.”