Former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election, saying his decision to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was aimed at strengthening a coalition to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on Arise Television on Monday, Rhodes-Vivour dismissed suggestions that he had abandoned the Labour Party, insisting that his political move reflected the coalition’s choice of ADC as a platform.
“I would not say I dumped LP because, as you know, the Labour Party is divided into two particular factions. One of such factions is pro-coalition. A coalition is a coming together of several political parties, several political thinkers, and the ADC is the party that has been adopted by the coalition. So I cannot come on here and say I dumped the Labour Party. No, we are focused on building a robust coalition. And yes, I am a registered member of the ADC,” he explained.
Rhodes-Vivour, who lost to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in 2023, said the coalition would create the structure needed to mount a credible challenge in 2027.
“I’ve said this several times, by the grace of God, I intend to run in the next election, 2027. My confidence is in the people. The people have shown their strength in 2023. We’ve stayed on ground. We’ve built networks in communities. We’ve learned from mistakes, and we’re still learning. The good thing about coalitions is you’re building your support base, you’re building more contacts and more stakeholders to be able to have a more formidable campaign,” he said.
The former LP candidate noted that the coalition had attracted members from the Peoples Democratic Party, APC, and LP, and described it as more united and prepared ahead of 2027.
Rhodes-Vivour also raised concerns over alleged police obstruction of opposition activities.
He recalled that in Alimosho, his coalition had secured and paid for a venue to host a reception for himself and former presidential candidate Peter Obi under ADC, but security agencies prevented the event.
“We got the approvals. We got the letter. We made the payment. On Thursday, they came and occupied the venue. On Saturday, the police supervised and protected the APC to do a rally at the same place that I paid for.
The Commissioner of Police needs to explain why that happened. The job of the police is to protect the citizens, not to determine who can do what, when, and how,” he said.
According to him, over 80 policemen, along with other forces and an armoured personnel carrier, were deployed to block the ADC gathering, with the Area Commander reportedly saying the action was “orders from above.”
On the day the ADC event was shut down, Rhodes-Vivour alleged that the APC was allowed to rally at the same venue under police protection.
The politician maintained that despite such obstacles, the opposition coalition would enter the 2027 contest more structured, organised, and prepared.
