The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has taken a critical step toward improving grassroots democracy with the convening of a post-election retreat to review the conduct of the 2025 Local Government elections across the state.
The retreat brought together LASIEC officials and key stakeholders to assess the successes recorded during the elections, examine challenges encountered, and draw lessons to guide future electoral exercises.
Speaking at the retreat, the Chairman of LASIEC, Justice Bola Okikiolu-Ighile (rtd.), described the gathering as a strategic move aimed at strengthening democratic processes in Lagos State. She reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to transparency, credibility, and continuous improvement in election management.
According to Justice Okikiolu-Ighile, the retreat created an open forum for stakeholders to frankly discuss operational gaps, logistics, security arrangements, and voter participation observed during the elections. She noted that insights and feedback from the discussions would play a key role in shaping reforms and enhancing electoral procedures ahead of future polls.
Also speaking at the event, the Permanent Secretary of LASIEC, Abdul Rafiu Fashola, emphasized the importance of institutional learning in building a more robust electoral system. He explained that the retreat was designed to allow staff and stakeholders to critically examine issues such as logistics, manpower deployment, operational efficiency, and voter turnout.
Fashola stressed that LASIEC remains firmly committed to professionalism and accountability, adding that recommendations from the retreat would be instrumental in improving the quality of future elections in the state.
Earlier, while welcoming participants, the Supervising Commissioner of LASIEC and Chairman, Electoral Training Committee, Hon. Oladele Adekanye, described the retreat as a vital ingredient for achieving credible elections. He underscored the need for continuous training of electoral officers to enhance efficiency, integrity, and strict adherence to electoral guidelines.
Hon. Adekanye disclosed that lessons learnt from the 2025 Local Government elections would be integrated into future training modules for LASIEC personnel, ensuring better preparedness in subsequent elections.
The retreat is expected to culminate in a comprehensive report containing actionable recommendations aimed at further deepening democracy and strengthening electoral governance in Lagos State.
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