Former Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has defended his decision to join the African Democratic Congress, saying the move is part of efforts to strengthen a coalition aimed at unseating the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 elections.
Rhodes-Vivour had officially joined the African Democratic Congress in early September 2025, a move that was seen as part of a broader opposition coalition strategy aimed at uniting disaffected factions from LP, APC, and PDP to mount a stronger challenge in 2027.
The Labour Party reacted sharply, calling Rhodes-Vivour’s defection “hasty” and “ill-advised,” accusing him of leaving at a time when LP is trying to consolidate its own internal structure. Rhodes-Vivour responded that he informed Peter Obi before joining ADC.
Speaking on Arise Television on Monday, Rhodes-Vivour dismissed claims that he dumped the Labour Party, stressing that the opposition was working to build a broad-based alliance.
He said, “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.”
Rhodes-Vivour, who contested against Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the 2023 polls, declared his intention to run again in 2027, expressing optimism that the coalition would provide the platform to challenge the APC’s dominance.
“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.
