Deflection to ADC: We wish Rhodes Vivour well – Labour Party

By Jude Opara, Abuja

The Labour Party (LP) on Sunday reacted to the recent deflection to the coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) by its 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos state, Rhodes Vivour.

The LP in a statement by the Interim National Publicity Secretary, Prince Tony Akeni said it decided to react to the development following several inquiries from the media and members of the public.

Akeni said the LP made it clear from the beginning that because of the fact that it will be difficult for one opposition party defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, it encouraged those who may want to join the coalition to do so.

“It is a settled consensus of the leadership of the Labour Party that a single opposition political party, including the LP, facing elections against Tinubu’s APC tyranny in 2027 may come short of victory. This is for apparent and well-known reasons.

“Our party’s view is therefore that a rainbow coalition of multi-party colours carrying along Nigeria’s ballot population, driven by a common unifying electorate mobilization, is what Nigerians need to sack APC and President Tinubu’s dictatorship out of power in 2027 and rescue our country from the APC’s apparent goal of one-party state capture.

“This is the patriotic manual that our party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, His Excellency Peter Obi, is working with, and we as Labour Party are one with him in it”.

However, Akeni said it was a bit hasty for Vivour to have jumped the gun when their leader and the presidential candidate of the party in 2020, Peter Obi was yet to officially decamp to the coalition party.

He added that a time will come when all the coalition members will come together under one umbrella including members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and even some members of the APC who genuinely want to see a changed Nigeria.

“In our party’s well considered proposition, a time will come that a confluence of all the progressive opposition political forces will emerge to take certain critical decisions. These include who the coalition shall field on the 2027 Presidential ticket.

“Another result of the above strategy will be the grand coalition adopting the most viable and potential ballot winning governorship candidate in each state of the federation, irrespective of political party platform or flag.

“This is the wisdom guiding our 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi not to declare defection to or outrightly enlist membership of ADC, PDP or any other political platform than the only one he can truly call his own, the Labour Party. Rhodes Vivour should have followed the footsteps of his master. That is what Labour Party had expected him to do if he were reading well the signs on the wall.

“By jumping the gun and hastily jumping boats, Vivour has shown, from our viewpoint, that he is still to learn some imperative essentials in his young political journey. Politicians who genuinely mean to serve their people should learn to hurry slowly. As a political party, Labour Party wishes him well”, the statement concluded.