The Landslide Heard Across Nigeria
Let’s cut through the noise: On July 12, 2025, Lagos witnessed a political tsunami. The All Progressives Congress didn’t just win the local government elections—it vaporized opposition forces. Fifty-seven chairmanship seats and three hundred seventy-five of three hundred seventy-six councillorship positions fell to the ruling party. The lone exception? A single ward in Yaba LCDA where the PDP scraped a win. This isn’t just victory; it’s absolute conquest. As a Lagosian watching this unfold, I’m equal parts awed and unsettled. What does such overwhelming dominance mean for our democracy? Buckle up—we’re dissecting the machinery, the backlash, and the road ahead.
Anatomy of a Clean Sweep
Let’s get granular. This wasn’t a win—it was a political annihilation. The APC secured every single one of fifty-seven chairmanship positions from Agege to Yaba. In councillorship races, they won three hundred seventy-five wins out of three hundred seventy-six. The sole exception occurred in Ward D in Yaba LCDA, where PDP’s Babatunde Dosunmu pulled off a minor miracle. Opposition collapse was spectacular—the PDP contested just forty-five councils and two hundred fifty-nine wards while Labour Party fielded candidates in only twenty-two LGAs. This mirrors the APC’s 2021 local government sweep where they took fifty-six of fifty-seven chairmanship seats, confirming the total erosion of PDP and Labour Party influence since the 2023 general elections. In Lagos Island LGA, APC candidate Taiwo Oyekan secured twenty-eight thousand three hundred eighty-five votes against PDP’s one thousand two hundred seventy-one. Amuwo-Odofin saw Prince Lanre Sanusi win with twenty-four thousand nine hundred twenty-six votes versus Labour Party’s one thousand nine hundred sixty-two. Agege’s Tunde Azeez dominated with thirty-one thousand five hundred three votes against APM’s eighty-six.
How APC Engineered Dominance
Grassroots Machine
 Decades-old ward structures operated with military precision. The party’s strategy of absorbing threats proved devastatingly effective—the PDP’s sole winner Babatunde Dosunmu was actually a former APC member. This defection tactic neutralized potential opposition strongholds before ballots were even printed.
State Apparatus Alignment
The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission’s state-funded structure created inherent advantages. Governor Sanwo-Olu’s pre-election “thank you” note to voters subtly framed as endorsement blurred institutional lines. Police declarations of “peaceful conduct” despite opposition violence claims further reinforced state narratives.
Opposition Disarray
PDP Deputy Chairman Tai Benedict admitted the APC’s aggressive campaigns meant something while simultaneously questioning vote tallies. Labour Party Secretary Sam Okpala dismissed the entire exercise as a sham and waste of taxpayers’ money. This cognitive dissonance symbolized opposition fragmentation.
Voter Apathy & Broken Trust
Abysmal Turnout
Here’s where the victory feels hollow. In Lagos Island East, five voters appeared at Polling Unit 006 where sixty-two were registered. At Polling Unit 007, six of forty-eight registered voters participated. Statewide, over six point two million collected PVCs contrasted sharply with the fraction who actually voted.
Logistical Nightmares
Late material deliveries plagued the process despite repeated assurances from electoral officials. The African Action Congress Chairman exposed unpaid ad-hoc staff and missing party logos on ballot papers. The Social Democratic Party Chairman accused the electoral commission of daylight robbery after their logo was omitted.
Cynicism Epidemic
Residents consistently expressed disillusionment, with many asking why vote when council chairs become rubber stamps. The electoral commission chair downplayed concerns by suggesting voters left early after casting ballots, a claim contradicted by widespread reports of polling unit inactivity.
Fury, Denial, Resignation
The PDP accused the APC of ballot stuffing, noting results exceeded Bola Tinubu’s 2023 presidential votes in several constituencies. Labour Party dismissed the exercise as a rape of democracy, citing absent officials in fifty percent of voting units. The African Action Congress demanded the electoral commission chair’s resignation, calling the process worse than a coup. When critics highlighted statistically improbable voter turnout figures, government officials attributed this to the APC’s grassroots strength. Opposition claims of late-arriving materials were dismissed as resolved logistics issues. Police reports of peaceful conduct directly contradicted opposition violence allegations.
Lagos as a One-Party State
Dominance this absolute carries existential governance risks. With ninety-nine point seven percent of wards opposition-free, accountability mechanisms vanish. The APC’s development agenda faces no formal scrutiny. This election confirms the party’s mobilization machinery remains lethal despite national discontent—a critical preview for 2027 general elections. The PDP’s lone seat despite federal ruling party status exposes their terminal decline in Nigeria’s commercial capital. Academic analysts warn that elections without competition cripple grassroots development, while the electoral commission’s omission of the SDP logo fuels perceptions of institutional capture.
Can Opposition Resurrect?
Structural reforms must include financial autonomy for State Independent Electoral Commissions to prevent interference. National laws mandating transparency in local government elections require urgent passage. Opposition survival demands issue-based messaging focused on governance gaps like waste management failures in Ojota and persistent flooding in Lekki. Exploiting ruling party factionalism offers another path—Babatunde Dosunmu’s defection-to-victory blueprint proves the APC isn’t monolithic. Civil society must push for biometric accreditation to validate turnout claims and litigate documented malpractices through the courts.
The Paradox of Power
Let’s be real: the APC’s sweep is a masterclass in political control. Yet beneath the landslide lies rot—voter disillusionment, opposition irrelevance, and a democracy gasping for air. True dominance demands governing inclusively. If the ruling party ignores this, the apathy enabling its wins may metastasize into democratic collapse. As Lagos goes, so goes Nigeria. This isn’t just a victory lap; it’s a crossroads. Will our leaders choose hegemony or healing? The next move changes everything.
