The Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said that violence, intimidation, and voter suppression were the main reasons he lost to incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the last election.
In a post shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, Rhodes-Vivour criticised what he described as a culture of violence that undermined the will of the electorate during the polls.
“When you have normalised violence against a group of people, eventually that violence should meet you,” he wrote.
“You look at what happened in the State Assembly where a majority, more than 90% of them, decided that they wanted someone else to speak on their behalf, to represent them, and they went through the entire process.”
He praised voters who, despite threats and coercion, stood firm during the State Assembly elections. “They voted, they stood their ground, despite intimidation, despite the force that was used against them,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour, who emerged as a strong contender in the 2023 elections, stressed that similar tactics of violence and suppression were used to derail his own bid for the governorship. “It’s a culture of violence, and intimidation and voter suppression, and I think that was the main obstacle for me in the 2023 elections,” he stated.
His comments add to ongoing debates about electoral integrity in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos, where reports of voter suppression and politically motivated attacks were widespread during the last general elections.
