The Governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, says public sector experience is not a criterion for performance in office as governor.
Gbadebo said this while on Channel Television Programme on Thursday. The LP candidate said youths, who are the new demography in politics, are interested in accountability.
He argued that the achievements recorded by the late Lateef Jakande’s administration in Lagos from October 1979 to December 1983 surpassed that of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“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,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
“The visionary leader, Obafemi Awolowo, 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.”
“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.”
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.
Rhodes-Vivour 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 the best institutions in the world.
Aside from the incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is seeking reelection under the banner of the APC, Rhodes-Vivour has his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Olajide Adediran aka Jandor to contend with in the exercise.
In the presidential election, LP’s Obi polled 582,454 votes in Lagos to trounce the flag bearer of the APC, Bola Tinubu who scored 572,606 votes.
In total, Obi won 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory but Tinubu scored the highest votes in total and was later announced the winner of the poll and Nigeria’s President-elect.
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