The Lagos State Governorship Candidate for the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has announced his defection to the opposition coalition’s African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Saturday September 6, 2025.
In a dramatic move that outwitted tens of thugs and police detachments suspected to be loyal to the ruling All Progressives Congress (ADC) at two decoy venues, Rhodes-Vivour and supporters carried out their defection programme.
The former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the 2023 election in Lagos State had been scheduled to declare for ADC on Saturday with all necessary steps taken including transmitting letters to police authorities seeking for them to carry out their constitutional duty of providing security and protection towards a hitch-free meeting.
However, by the time Rhodes-Vivour and his team visited the planned venue, Lion Field at Ipaja in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, heavily armed police officers refused them entry into the venue.
The police operatives told them to go and see the Commissioner of Police for Lagos State and seek his permission for the political event.
In response, Rhodes-Vivour told the police: “We are not holding a political rally but we are holding a political meeting, which we have constitutional rights to do. However, we will go right now to meet with the Commissioner of Police to know why his men are here and find out if their presence is to carry out their constitutional duty of providing us security and protection or what. We will come to feed the public back with what we are told by him.”
Sources in LP and ADC said they wrote letters to the Area Command and Gowon Estate Police Divisional Headquarters, copies of which were delivered to the office of the Commissioner of Police.
The episode replicated that of former Kaduna State’s Governor Nasir El-Rufai who during the week had his ADC meeting venue attacked by elements believed to be the ruling APC’s thugs, with the police quizzing him over the confusion that broke out.
Rhodes-Vivour immediately headed for another venue where the event held, attended by representatives of national leaders of the ADC coalition, including those for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former LP Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi.
Rhodes-Vivour said: “I am going to address the Press later on the event that happened today and events that happened since yesterday. But with this speech, I’m just going to address the fact that I’m joining the ADC coalition. This is coalition that is meant to rescue Nigeria and I have said this for the last two years 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 strong coalition that will be able to stand the chance in 2027 to deliver and rescue Nigeria from these cynics that have taken over this country; people that have refused to give us governance but, instead, want to maintain power with thuggery through violence and intimidation.
“And if we sit back and let this become the new normal, if we sit back and let this define what our politics is, moving forward, the people will not have a voice. Your government will not work for your interest.
“You have people that are so called chairmen of local governments parading with thugs and police on roads that are decrepit, roads that are with potholes everywhere nothing is done, but it’s on these roads that they go and intimidate and cause violence.
“I’m going to address that with the Press but I just want to close this by saying I’m happy to become part of this family. I’m looking forward to the union and governance that this party is going to give to Nigerians and my prayer is that God will grant our leaders and the party’s structure the wisdom to be able to come together to define the new path for our beloved country Nigeria. God bless you,” he said.
In his welcome remarks, Chairman of ADC Lagos State Chapter, Mr. George Ashiru, said the party was determined to rescue Nigerians from 12 years of APC misrule.
Ashiry said: “All of you know the circumstances of our presence here. We are here because we have a mandate to rescue Nigeria. We have desire, a hope that Lagosians in particular will be part of a vision of a global Lagos, Lagos for everybody, Lagos where we all have an opportunity to have a life and a future for us and our children. That is what ADC stands for.
“And today we are having one of the most important affirmation programmes where our coalition partners from one of the key blocs in the Labour Party are now today coming to this wonderful family of Nigerians, African Democratic Congress.
“I will not ho further into some of the other circumstances until after the affirmation, when we now have the appropriate responses to the media on matters at hand. But let me use this opportunity to begin the most critical reason we are here today, which is the affirmation programme. We are not affirming one man, we are affirming a movement but every movement has a leader and what brother Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour represents is the leadership of a movement that shook Lagos in the last election.
“The wonderful thing about Nigeria is that we were on the opposite sides of the political spectrum two years ago and we were fielding candidates and the candidates were on the field and I was representing and supporting one candidate and he was a candidate.
“But the good thing about it is that there was a communication already even at that time, which today leads to what we call coalition. The coalition did not start three months ago, it started two years ago and today we are celebrating it.”
Atiku’s representative, Professor Ola Olateju, also, followed the same line of thought.
Olateju said: “We should it look at ourselves as if we are not able or not competent to rescue Nigeria. We should not be looking at sir people out there that we are gathering ourselves, we are waiting for the people to come and pick the slots so that we can follow them. Those of you seated here, with the ADC philosophy that we understand and we know, anybody could become anything. There is equal opportunity for everybody irrespective of your ethnic group, irrespective of your agenda, irrespective of your class.
“ADC is not a political party, it’s a movement. It is the movement of the people. Exodus. Movement of the people. We are moving in order to rescue Nigeria.”
Deacon Ken Pela, Delta State Labour Party Governorship Candidate in 2023, who represented Peter Obi, said: “God has given this earth to man and, usually, what the devil is trying to do is to intimidate man to take control. So the antics we are seeing or we’ve been seeing in the past two days is the antics of the devil.
“Now the only condition for evil to continue to prevail is for good men to stand but doing nothing. We have one good man here leading the Obidient Movement who stood in 2023, who stood and shook the establishment. The evil that had held Lagos State for 24 years was shaken to its foundation. That was just the beginning; 2027 is when it will happen. We were just testing the microphone at that time. So, I continue to urge all good men in Lagos State to continue to stand.
“Years ago in India, against all odds, the people prevailed. After the Civil War in Liberia, against all odds, the people rejected the warlord and elected a woman to be their president. Just last year in Ghana, against all odds, against the establishment, the people and elected their President.”
