The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said the Obidient movement remains with him despite contesting the 2027 governorship election on a different political platform from Peter Obi.
Rhodes-Vivour stated this during an interview on BlackBox, a talk show hosted by Rufai Oseni.
Asked whether the Peter Obi wave would still work for him in the coming election now that he and the former Anambra State governor are no longer on the same political platform, Rhodes-Vivour said the values that attracted members of the movement to him remained part of his political identity.
“I feel that the qualities that movement adopted or welcomed, those are qualities that I still carry. Those are qualities that have been consistent with. I’ve been with them in the trenches,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour said his relationship with members of the movement had continued beyond the 2023 election, adding that he had maintained personal relationships with them and remained involved in their affairs.
“Even after the election, the aftermath of the election, hospital bills that were paid, and all of that. We build personal relationships across board,” he said.
According to him, his consistency and continued identification with the values of the movement would make him a trusted figure among its members despite the political differences between him and Obi.
“I feel that as far as I carry those qualities and those characteristics are still with me, and I’ve shown consistency, I believe that I’m a trusted figure,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
“I believe that when push comes to shove, that movement is still with me. That’s just the honest truth.”
In the 2023 election, Rhodes-Vivour contested the Lagos governorship election on the platform of the Labour Party while Obi ran for president on the same platform.
Obi won Lagos in the presidential election, while Rhodes-Vivour came second in the governorship poll behind incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Ahead of the 2027 election, however, Obi has moved from the Labour Party to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), where Funso Doherty is the party’s governorship candidate in Lagos.
Rhodes-Vivour is seeking the Lagos governorship ticket under the ADC, whose presidential candidate is former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
He recently said he had no issues with Obi, adding that Atiku remained his presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
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