From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Interim National Working Committee (INWC) of the Labour Party has described as laughable and of no consequence the rumoured defection of its Lagos State 2023 governorship flagbearer, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
The party’s interim national publicity secretary, Toni Akani, over the weekend further alleged that it is one of the APC’s machinations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
While playing down Rhodes-Vivour’s move, Akani said it was necessary to issue a statement owing to a stream of enquiries from the media, public, and party faithful across Nigeria.
The statement further reads, “The Labour Party is compelled to make this statement of our position on the highly publicised defection of Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, our party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State during the 2023 elections.
“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 mobilisation, 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, Peter Obi, is working with, and we as Labour Party are one with him in it.”
It highlighted that, without defecting, the understanding involves Labour Party and Peter Obi meeting and engaging in broad-based multi-party liaison with all well-meaning opposition political parties, including the ADC itself, PDP, and also large unseen bodies of critical APC stakeholders across the various geopolitical zones of our country.
“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.
“Thus, in the process, the practice and beauty of multi-party democracy, which the current APC tyranny under President Tinubu is determined to stamp out and destroy, will be restored.
“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 relieving.
“By jumping the gun and hastily jumping boats, Rhodes-Vivour has shown, the Labour Party’s 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.”