Former Lagos State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate and now a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has accused the Lagos chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of deliberately using distractions and divisive tactics to shift public attention away from poverty, corruption, and poor governance in the state and across Nigeria.
In a post on X, Rhodes-Vivour described the ruling party’s strategy as a calculated attempt to keep citizens preoccupied with irrelevant issues rather than focusing on the real challenges confronting them.
“It is all strategy, it is all a distraction. When Lagos APC can keep you talking about issues of no actual consequences to your lives, they prevent you from talking about the following:
“The real issues are that 139 million Nigerians are living in poverty in 2025. That food inflation is the highest this country has seen and that terrorists are killing people across the country with impunity,” he said.
Rhodes-Vivour accused the APC-led government of incompetence and failure, alleging that its leaders have continued to enrich themselves while the people face economic hardship.
He cited a number of alleged cases of mismanagement and waste, including the controversial “assembly gate” scandal involving N17bn, N2bn reportedly spent on rechargeable fans, and another N2bn allegedly used to renovate a canteen “that was already claimed to have been fixed for N1bn.”
He also faulted the government for failing to repair the faulty elevator at a Lagos general hospital two years after it caused the death of a doctor, saying the inaction reflected the government’s disregard for human life.
Rhodes-Vivour condemned what he described as reckless spending by the Lagos government, noting that N20.6bn was recently approved for the purchase of new vehicles after N45bn had already been spent on vehicles in just two years.
“The heartless demolition of properties in Oworo at night did not discriminate on tribe or party affiliation,” he said.
“Greed and bad governance does not discriminate based on tribe, yet it thrives in you being distracted by it.”
He also recounted an alleged attack on one of his supporters, identified as Mummy Taiwo, who was allegedly beaten at an ADC declaration event in Alimosho. According to him, the attackers did not care much about her tribe.
“People that have no vision to sell, sell division, Don’t fall for it,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
“The only people taking your land, impoverishing our people and destroying our future are these greedy and incompetent politicians who are always quick to resort to violence when challenged.”
As at the time of filing this report, the APC has not yet responded to Rhodes-Vivour”s statement.
