Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, former governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos, says the state does not belong to President Bola Tinubu or his political structure.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, Rhodes-Vivour claimed successive administrations in Lagos have failed to provide quality governance, relying instead on violence and intimidation to maintain political dominance.
“I don’t believe that Lagos belongs to one man. That’s why my entire movement is called Our Lagos. Lagos is our shared responsibility. Lagos is our home. And the idea that Lagos belongs to one man is something I’m completely against,” he said.
“The idea that our commonwealth can be commandeered by one man for over two decades is something that I’m against. It’s not about me. It’s not about Gbadebo. It’s about the people of Lagos. It’s about the people of Nigeria.”
Rhodes-Vivour criticised the state of infrastructure in local government areas such as Alimosho, alleging that officials are more concerned with suppressing opposition than fixing inner roads.
“You have local government chairmen going on inner roads that are terrible, absolutely terrible, with policemen, to prevent an opposition party from having a gathering at Lionfield in Alimosho. After 20 years, they have not made a real difference to the people they govern,” he added.
“If they were giving people good quality governance, they would not be bothered by opposition. They would not be resorting to violence and intimidation.”
He added that “reliance on violence” shows the failure of the ruling political structure in the state.
“Like I said earlier today, violence is the last refuge of incompetence. They have not lifted people’s lives enough to use that as their campaign. Instead, they rely on violence. That in itself says everything,” he said.
