The Labour Party (LP) has criticised its former Lagos State governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, over his decision to dump the party for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing the move as premature and ill-advised.
LEADERSHIP reports that Rhodes-Vivour, who contested the 2023 Lagos State governorship seat under the platform of LP, formally announced his defection to the ADC on Saturday at an event in Alimosho LGA of the 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 All Progressives Congress (APC) government in 2027.
In his declaration speech, Rhodes-Vivour said his decision was informed by the need to build a united opposition front against the ruling APC.
“I am happy to become part of this family. I’m looking forward to the union and governance that this party will bring to Nigerians. My prayer is that God will grant our leaders and the party’s structure the wisdom to come together and define a new path for our beloved country,” he said.
He described the ADC-led coalition as a “rescue mission,” stressing the urgency of unity among opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“This is a coalition that is meant to rescue Nigeria. I have said since after the 2023 elections that we cannot afford to divide the opposition going into the next election. We must come together, united through a robust coalition that will stand a chance in 2027 to deliver this country,” Rhodes-Vivour declared.
But, reacting to the development on Sunday, LP’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, faulted the decision, arguing that Rhodes-Vivour had “jumped the gun” and failed to adopt the political approach of the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
“Our party’s view is therefore that a rainbow coalition of multi-party colours carrying along Nigeria’s ballot population, driven by a common unifying electorate mobilisation, is what Nigerians need to sack APC and President Bola Tinubu’s dictatorship out of power in 2027,” Akeni said in a statement.
“This is the patriotic manual that our party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, is working with, and we as the Labour Party are one with him in it. Without defecting, the understanding involves Labour Party and PO meeting and engaging in broad-based multi-party liaison with all well-meaning opposition political parties,” he added.
Akeni emphasised that it was already a settled consensus within the LP that no single opposition party, including itself, could single-handedly defeat the APC in 2027. However, he maintained that Rhodes-Vivour’s decision to quit the LP was not the way forward.
“Rhodes-Vivour should have followed the footsteps of his master. That is what the Labour Party had expected him to do if he were reading well the signs on the wall. By jumping the gun and hastily jumping boats, Vivour has shown, from our viewpoint, that he is still to learn some imperative essentials in his young political journey. Politicians who genuinely mean to serve their people should learn to hurry slowly,” Akeni said.
Despite its criticism, the party extended good wishes to its former governorship flagbearer.
“As a political party, the Labour Party wishes him well,” the statement concluded.
