Labour Party slams Rhodes-Vivour’s ‘hasty’ defection to ADC

The Labour Party (LP) has taken a swipe at its former Lagos State governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, over his sudden defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), describing the move as “hasty” and “ill-advised”.

Rhodes-Vivour, who contested the 2023 Lagos governorship election under the LP banner, formally announced his switch to the ADC on Saturday during an event in Alimosho, Lagos. The event, which was initially disrupted by security operatives and later relocated, marked the launch of a coalition of opposition parties under the ADC aimed at dislodging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

In his speech, Rhodes-Vivour described the coalition as a “rescue mission”, stressing the need for opposition unity ahead of the next general election.

“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,” he said.

He added: “I’m happy to become part of this family. My prayer is that God will grant our leaders and the party’s structure the wisdom to define a new path for our beloved country.”

However, in a statement issued on Sunday, the Labour Party’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, criticised the move, stating that Rhodes-Vivour had “jumped the gun” and ignored the political approach modelled by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

“Our party’s view is that a rainbow coalition of multi-party colours, carrying along Nigeria’s voting population through a common unifying mobilisation, is what is needed to sack APC and President Bola Tinubu’s dictatorship in 2027.

“This is the patriotic strategy our presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is actively pursuing. Without defecting, Obi has been engaging with other opposition parties in a broad-based political liaison,” Akeni said.

He added that the LP, along with Obi, believes no single opposition party can unseat the APC on its own in 2027, but Rhodes-Vivour’s defection was not the right approach.

“Rhodes-Vivour should have followed the footsteps of his master. That’s what the Labour Party had expected of him if he was reading the political temperature correctly.

“By jumping the gun and hastily changing allegiance, he has shown, in our view, that he is still learning the essentials of political maturity. Politicians who truly aim to serve the people must learn to hurry slowly.”

Despite the criticism, the party wished him well in his new political journey.

“As a political party, the Labour Party wishes him well,” Akeni concluded.