2027 Elections: I won’t align with Tinubu to govern Lagos, says Rhodes-Vivour

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate, has ruled out the possibility of aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s political machinery to become the governor of Lagos.

Rhodes-Vivour made the statement on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, dismissing the idea outright while citing a difference of agenda and purpose.

“No. I will rather go and focus on my business, my work, and my family. That aligning with Tinubu will be a complete waste of time,” he said.

According to him, politics is not about personal ambition but about restoring Lagos to its old glory, which is his lifelong dream.

“The reason why we are in politics is to make the lives of Lagosians better; it is to restore Lagos to its old glory — glory that a lot of people might not really be familiar with in terms of the history of Lagos and the greatness that Lagos once was.

“Any party that will not allow me to maximise the commonwealth of Lagos for the benefit of its people is a complete waste of time,” he added.

Speaking further, Rhodes-Vivour argued that Lagos can only thrive if the city is freed from what he called agberocracy—a term coined from the combination of ‘thuggery’ and ‘democracy’.

“I am convinced that Lagos will be so much better and will breathe a breath of fresh air if the domination of what has become ‘agberocracy’ is removed from the neck of Lagos State.

“This thuggery, where politicians believe that they don’t have to serve the people, instead, they rely on violence to suppress and intimidate the people — that is something that does not align with me in any way, shape, or form,” he said.

He confirmed he has now joined the coalition under the ADC, which he said is the only viable path for the opposition to challenge the ruling party in 2027. When sked if he would contest on the ADC platform, Rhodes-Vivour replied: “By God’s grace.”

The Lagos politician also disclosed that Peter Obi, the LP’s 2023 presidential candidate, was aware of his decision to move to the ADC.

Rhodes-Vivour revealed that the Labour Party’s internal crisis had crippled its ability to function effectively, which made the coalition necessary. He added that Saturday’s disruption of the ADC’s Lagos event was unconstitutional.

“The ADC event did not require police permission. It was our constitutional right to meet. Yet we were stopped, while the APC was allowed to hold its own gathering. That is the reality,” he claimed.

Since 1999, Lagos has been under the political control of Tinubu. Though he left office in 2007 after two terms as governor, Tinubu has played a decisive role in producing successive governors of the state.

Now, Tinubu faces a coalition that has officially adopted the ADC as its platform ahead of the 2027 elections, with leading members including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Rotimi Amaechi, Nasir El-Rufai, and Rauf Aregbesola.

At the party, former Senate President David Mark serves as the chairman, with Rauf Aregbesola as national secretary.

For Rhodes-Vivour, however, the calculation is simple: aligning with Tinubu is a complete waste of time, and the only chance for Lagos to “breathe” is through the opposition coalition.