Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour Labour Party exit won’t weaken LP, says Lagos chapter. Party remains confident of 2027 victory despite defection to ADC

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour Labour Party exit will not dent the party’s strength or derail its ambition to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos come 2027, the state chapter of the Labour Party has declared.

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Reacting to Rhodes-Vivour’s recent defection to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Lagos LP state secretary, Sam Okpala, stated that the party was never built around a single individual.

He dismissed the notion that the former governorship candidate’s departure had weakened the party’s electoral prospects.

“It is very dangerous to build the destiny of a political party around an individual,” Okpala said on Sunday. “With or without Rhodes-Vivour, the party is still strong and formidable. He was simply a beneficiary of the Labour Party’s efforts in 2023.”

Rhodes-Vivour exited the LP in September, citing the ADC’s potential to provide a more structured and stable platform to challenge the APC effectively. Speaking on Channels Television, he said:

“We need a party that is going to be ready to do the work… building a robust structure all the way down to the ward level with stability.”

Okpala, however, remains sceptical about the new coalition’s strength. “We are not attaching much importance to the coalition. It is not a coalition of opposition parties but of disgruntled politicians, many of whom were previously part of the APC. That is not the way to unseat the ruling party.”

He added that defeating the APC in Lagos would require “serious strategy, hard work, and planning,” and claimed the LP is the only party currently positioned to achieve this.

Okpala noted that the party would unveil its 2027 governorship candidate “at the right time”, but stressed that it was not in a rush. “Our party is still strong, intact and formidable, and we will soon show Lagos what we have to offer,” he said.

Meanwhile, other aspirants are beginning to line up for the 2027 race. Dr Abdul-Azeez Adediran (Jandor), the 2023 PDP governorship candidate, confirmed his ambition to contest again—this time under the APC, which he joined after dumping the PDP.

“I am running in 2027 for governorship in Lagos State under the APC,” he told the News Agency of Nigeria. “We will subject ourselves to the internal democracy of the party, and whatever the party decides, we will work for it.”

Also read: Lagos asserts control over Trade Fair Complex approvals amid demolitions

As Lagos gears up for a highly competitive 2027 race, the political atmosphere is intensifying with defections, party re-alignments, and early declarations of intent.