Some voters at the Okerube Ward B Polling Unit 025 were sent back to get their face masks before being accredited to vote in the ongoing election into local government councils in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission had made it a mandatory condition for voters seeking to exercise their electoral rights.
Face masks are a major health facility to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A voter who was turned back, Kabiru Omotosho, said he was not angry over the directive.
“The officers did right by ensuring that COVID-19 protocols are adhered to. I was asked to go back; I don’t know how and why I forgot to bring my face mask. Maybe I was anxious and excited to vote. The officials did right by reminding us. The election is going as it should,” he said.
A businesswoman, Idiat Ajibike, told NAN that she didn’t plan to buy a face mask but was forced to, as there was no choice.
She said “If not that I just want to vote, I would have just gone back. I don’t like the fact that I must buy something against my wish. Walking back home is not an option because my place is far from here. An electoral officer, who preferred anonymity, said that there was enough publicity about the need for voters to come with their face masks. This is typical Nigerians’ attitude. They don’t pay attention. By now, we all should be used to using this face mask all the time. Imagine if there are no security agents around, some of them will insist that we must allow them to vote without it,” she said.