By Bilesanmi Abayomi
Hon. Sanni Okanlawon, the House of Assembly candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Kosofe constituency 1 in Lagos State, has expressed optimism that he will emerge victorious at the end of the Saturday House of Assembly election in the state, despite experiencing a BVAS malfunction at his polling unit.
Speaking at his polling unit at Okungade, Mende, Maryland, Kosofe Local Government, Lagos State, Hon. Okanlawon commended INEC officials for their early arrival with election materials and called on them to be free, fair and just to all political parties.
However, he expressed his disappointment that the BVAS at his polling unit was malfunctioning and not working at all. He said that he had called the EO for Kosofe several times, and while she promised to send someone to reconfigure or bring another BVAS, they were yet to receive it.
Despite this setback, Hon. Okanlawon urged people to come out and vote, saying that everything had been done to ensure that every vote counts. He also described the process at other polling units as smooth and called on everyone to remain calm while they await the arrival of another BVAS.
“It’s our power, it’s our franchise, and our civic responsibility that we must perform. I’m begging everybody to be calm. We are expecting another BVAS as promised by the electoral officer. Let’s wait and see what happens,” he said.
Hon. Okanlawon’s optimism and call for calm amidst the BVAS malfunction reflect the determination of the APC and its candidates to win the election.
However, the malfunctioning of the BVAS at polling units raises concerns about the credibility of the election in Kosofe. It remains to be seen how this issue will be resolved and how it will impact the outcome of the election.