Ex-Labour Party governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour says only Lagos residents must determine their leaders and decide who governs them.

In a statement shared via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday,

Rhodes-Vivour criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu over what he described as an attempt to undermine the political agency of Lagosians. Rhodes-Vivour said it was “insulting” to suggest that decisions about who governs Lagos State, or when such leaders should be removed, rest on the “feelings or hallucinations of one man and a gang of kleptocrats.”

He wrote: “The APC, and particularly Mr President, are mistaken to believe they have stripped Lagosians of decency.

That who becomes governor or when to remove the said governor is reduced to the feelings or hallucinations of one man and a gang of kleptocrats, is insulting to many and must no longer be tolerated.

“Only the people of Lagos can and must determine those who will lead them. Only them also reserve the right to decide when they are fed up with who governs the state.”

Rhodes-Vivour argued that Lagos State is “bigger than the whims of one man,” insisting that political power should rest solely with the electorate.

“Lagos is bigger than the whims of one man. In 2027 we must permanently end this babas?pe criminality, and elect a governor that is accountable and beholden to the people of Lagos.

“It is time to restore #Ourlagos in the interest of all lagosians.”

The remarks come amid ongoing political realignments and debates over governance, electoral influence, and party dominance in Nigeria’s commercial capital as attention gradually turns toward the 2027 general elections. (AriseNews TV, excluding headline)

•Former Lagos State Labour Party guber candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour