Former Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has accused the police of partisanship after his coalition was prevented from holding a rally at a venue it had paid for in Alimosho, only for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to stage its own rally there days later under police protection.
Rhodes-Vivour, who was the Labour Party’s candidate against Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the 2023 polls, said the disruption of his African Democratic Congress (ADC) welcoming event exposed bias by security agencies against opposition figures.
According to him, more than 80 policemen and an armoured personnel carrier were deployed to block his gathering despite approvals and payments made for the venue.
“We got the approvals. We got the letter. We made the payment. On Thursday, they came and occupied the venue. On Saturday, the police supervised and protected the APC to do a rally at the same place that I paid for.
“The Commissioner of Police needs to explain why that happened. The job of the police is to protect the citizens, not to determine who can do what, when, and how,” he said during an interview on Arise Television.
The Alimosho event, which was planned to welcome him and former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi into the ADC fold, was meant to receive defectors and energise supporters.
Rhodes-Vivour and his organisers said they had earlier secured verbal clearance from the Area “M” Command of Lagos Police, only to later be informed that “orders from above” had cancelled all political gatherings. His attempts to meet with the Commissioner of Police were unsuccessful.
Despite the setback, Rhodes-Vivour defended his move to the ADC, stressing it was not a defection from Labour but part of a broader coalition strategy to build a united opposition capable of challenging the APC in 2027.
“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 and 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,” he said.
His move, made official in early September, had already sparked backlash from the Labour Party, which described it as “hasty” and “ill-advised”, accusing him of abandoning the party at a time it is trying to consolidate its internal structures. However, Rhodes-Vivour countered that he had informed Obi before registering with the ADC.
Declaring his ambition for the 2027 governorship race, he expressed confidence that the coalition would provide the platform to mount a stronger challenge against APC dominance in Lagos.
“My confidence is in the people. We stayed on the ground. We’ve built networks in communities. We’ve learnt 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.
He added that the coalition had attracted “formidable” figures from the Peoples Democratic Party, the APC, and the Labour Party, insisting the opposition in Lagos was now more united and organised than before.
Rhodes-Vivour maintained that the 2027 race would be “more competitive, better structured, and better prepared” — despite the hurdles his movement has faced.
