Governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, popular called GRV, said the achievements of the administration of a former governor of the state, Pa Lateef Jakande, from October 1979 to December 1983, is bigger than that of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Rhodes-Vivour made this assertion in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, monitored by our correspondent on Thursday.
He said, “Alhaji Lateef Jakande never had any public sector experience but what he achieved in four years the APC government has not achieved in two decades.
“The visionary leader, Obafemi Awolowo, he had no public sector or governance experience but he moved the interest of the Yorubas to a level that people are still trying to aspire to. The fact is you must have empathy, self-capacity and courage to do the right thing.”
The LP candidate said youths, who are the new demography in politics, are interested in accountability.
“This government has run unaccountably for over two decades. They’ve empowered agberos, touts and thugs with so much violence. And they have not been brought to book,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
He also said the postponement of the governorship and state assemblies’ elections from March 11 to March 18 has not dampened his momentum and determination to become the next governor of Lagos.
“It is not about rushing an election; it is about getting it right and that is why we got the injunction to ensure that INEC actually follows its processes. There are a lot of things that must be done right if we want to get this country on the right path,” he said.
The LP governorship candidate, however, said after what happened in the February 25 presidential and National Assembly polls, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) would have to win his trust again.
According to him, said the people of Lagos want good governance regardless of the language a leader speaks or the tribe he belongs to. He noted that he is a proper cosmopolitan Lagosian having roots with the Yoruba people and having been trained in best institutions in the world.
