Former chairman of the Labour party (LP) in Lagos State, Olukayode Salako, has disclosed the reason he thinks Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour lost the governorship election.

LP candidate Rhodes-Vivour polled 312,329 votes and lost to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who had 762,134 votes.

Rhodes-Vivour’s loss came two weeks after Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi polled 582,354 votes to defeat former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu of the APC who had 572,606 in Lagos during the presidential election.

Salako said elements of pride shown to party bigwigs by Rhodes-Vivour made Sanwo-Olu win a second term when there was momentum for Rhodes-Vivour to win after Obi’s win in Lagos.

“After the Labour party won the presidential election in Lagos, pride came over Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and started seeing himself as the Governor of Lagos already,” Salako told Politics HQ on News Central TV.

Days ago, Salako in a statement described Rhodes-Vivour as a characterless individual, adding that he would have messed up Lagos and set its progress back by 10 years if he had won.

Salako said Rhodes-Vivour treated the state executive council of the party with disdain and was overtly irritated by anything that had to do with Yoruba people in the party.

“Immediately I gave him the ticket free of charge, without negotiating or charging him to give me anything, he started misbehaving and making unhidden/uncultured moves to push me aside from his project,” Salako said.

“I had thought I would give him the ticket, and the project would be our project. I had thought we would run things together to achieve success together. My avowed mission then was to win Lagos for the Labour Party, so that I can make a name for myself as the State Chairman.

“He is so mannerless, mentally arrogant, proud, full of himself, very deceptive, self-centred, childish; mean-hearted, unforgiving, operationally vindictive and immature in almost everything," Salako said.

Salako said Rhodes-Vivour also failed to carry LP’s major stakeholders such as Moshood Salvador, Wale Okuniyi, Professor Pat Utomi and Sumbo Onitiri along after the party had secured victory in the Presidential election in Lagos. (The Guardian)

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