Former Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has reacted to criticisms that he abandoned LP 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for his new party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Speaking on Channels Television’s ‘Sunday Politics’, Rhodes-Vivour explained that the former Anambra State governor was fully informed about the move before he switched allegiance from LP to ADC.
According to him, he has consistently carried Obi along in all his political plans.
He said, “Certainly, His Excellency was aware. A representative of his was even at the declaration yesterday (Saturday).
“His Excellency and I are communicating. We are aligned. There’s no step that’s being taken that he’s not aware of.
“Again, as I said, we have all agreed that the only way to have a successful election for us in the opposition is a coalition. Regardless of where anybody is at this point in time, we have all come to that agreement and we are all working towards that aim.”
The clarification comes a few hours after Labour Party faulted his defection, which it described as hasty and ill-advised.
Rhodes-Vivour formally declared his defection to the ADC on Saturday at an event in Alimosho LGA, Lagos State.
The event, initially disrupted by security operatives before being relocated, was part of a broader coalition of opposition parties under the ADC platform, aimed at unseating the ruling All Progressives Congress in 2027.
In his declaration speech, Rhodes-Vivour said joining the ADC was part of building a united front against the APC in the 2027 elections.
But, the Senator Nenadi Usman-led leadership of LP argued that Rhodes-Vivour ought to have taken a cue from Obi, who has continued to engage opposition parties without leaving the LP.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the party’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, said Rhodes-Vivour’s action showed he “jumped the gun” and failed to imbibe Obi’s political approach.
Akeni noted that it was already a settled consensus within the LP that no single opposition party—including itself—could single-handedly dislodge the APC in 2027.
