Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party's governorship candidate in the 2023 Lagos State election, has called for unity among opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections. Rhodes-Vivour emphasized that to achieve the significant changes Nigeria needs, opposition parties must form a coalition to effectively challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He argued that entering the election fragmented would be counterproductive and only benefit the incumbents.
During an interview with The Sun, Rhodes-Vivour criticized the current government, accusing officials of prioritizing personal financial gain over the welfare of Nigerian citizens. He pointed to numerous instances where those in power have failed to address the pressing issues facing the populace, instead focusing on enriching themselves. This, he suggested, underscores the need for a unified opposition that can present a viable alternative to the APC.
Addressing the integrity of Nigeria's electoral process and the judiciary, Rhodes-Vivour expressed significant doubts. Reflecting on his own experience in the 2023 election, he recounted instances of vote manipulation and discrepancies in the reported results. He cited cases where the vote counts were inflated by adding zeros, changing results from 12 to 120 and six to 60, thereby casting serious doubts on the credibility of the electoral process.
Furthermore, Rhodes-Vivour criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for failing to uphold its promise of electronic vote transmission, a measure that he believes would have enhanced transparency. Drawing on his experience from the Ondo State governorship election, he noted that the expected digital collation did not materialize, further eroding his trust in the electoral system. This, he argues, highlights the urgent need for electoral reforms and a unified opposition to ensure fair and credible elections in the future.
He said: If you ask me about confidence in the electoral process, my answer is a ‘no’ to that. I went to the tribunal after the election and we saw our results. I saw where they changed from 12 to 120. I saw where they changed from six to 60 and so on. Before the election, the head of INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, repeatedly told us that we were going to have electronic transmission of votes. I was in the electoral committee of the Ondo State governorship election when I was in PDP and we were collating our results from the INEC portal. And when we compared those results with our agents’ results, they were the same.