Voting Priority Accorded the Elderly Unsettles Youth Voters 

Sunday Ehigiator 

As voting commenced in many parts of Lagos, the decision by the Independent Electoral Commission to prioritise the Elderly, alongside Persons With Disability (PWD), Pregnant Women and Nursing mothers seems not to have be going down well with youth voters in many polling units.

THISDAY gathered that at Kosofe Local Government and some parts of Ikorodu, the youth are claiming that it is a ploy to disenfranchise the youth who they say form the largest parts of the voting population.

Speaking with THISDAY at Ward 10, Unit 50 under Kosofe, Owode Onirin delimitation, a youth who simply identified himself as Obinna described the situation as very concerning. 

According to him, “Many of us the youth have been here since 6:30am. They gave us number. I am number 21. Most of the Elderly are just coming and they are attending to them first. This is very concerning.

“Are they trying to disenfranchise us? Why will they be attending to just the Elderly since 8:30am that they started voting and this is already past 12pm and they are yet to attend to one single youth.”

Also speaking with THISDAY at Ward 10, Unit 35, in Ajegunle, another youth Ms Olasunbo said “We have just been made to wait endlessly on the queeue without being attended to. They are only attending to elders as if they are the only ones they want to vote and not the youth.

“And i heard voting is ending by 2:30pm, when will they now attend to us. This is sad.”
[12:57, 25/02/2023] Editor Tokumbo: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and his wife, Dolapo, cast their votes at the Polling Unit Open Space under kolanut tree, Awolowo road, Egunrege, Ikenne in Ogun State