Rhodes-Vivour Defends Defection to ADC, Says Peter Obi Was Fully Briefed

Former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has clarified that his recent move to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was not a betrayal of LP’s 2023 presidential flagbearer, Peter Obi.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, Rhodes-Vivour said Obi was fully informed of his decision before he officially switched allegiance from the LP.

“Certainly, His Excellency was aware. A representative of his was even at the declaration yesterday. His Excellency and I are communicating. We are aligned. There’s no step that’s being taken that he’s not aware of,” he explained.

Rhodes-Vivour added that his political realignment was part of ongoing efforts to form a coalition strong enough to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

“We have all agreed that the only way to have a successful election for us in the opposition is a coalition. Regardless of where anybody is at this point in time, we are all working towards that aim,” he said.

The clarification comes after the Labour Party criticised his defection, describing it as hasty and ill-advised. In a statement issued on Sunday, LP’s interim National Publicity Secretary, Tony Akeni, said Rhodes-Vivour’s action showed he had “jumped the gun” and failed to imbibe Obi’s patient approach of building alliances without leaving the party.

Akeni stressed that it was already a consensus within the LP that no single opposition party—including itself—could singlehandedly unseat the APC in 2027.

Rhodes-Vivour, who was LP’s governorship candidate in Lagos during the 2023 general elections, formally declared for the ADC on Saturday at an event in Alimosho, Lagos State.

The gathering, initially disrupted by security operatives before being relocated, was part of a broader ADC-led coalition of opposition parties.

In his declaration speech, Rhodes-Vivour described the coalition as a “rescue mission” aimed at uniting the opposition and rescuing Nigeria from APC’s grip on power.