By
Safiu Kehinde
The Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State has cleared the air over the controversies surrounding the candidacy of its governorship candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, better known as GRV.
Recall a former Caretaker Chairman of the party, Ifagbemi Awamaridi had insisted that he remains the bonafide LP candidate for the March 18 governorship election in Lagos.
Awamaridi, who was said to have relinquished his candidacy, had also taken legal steps to the emergence of Rhodes-Vivour as the party’s candidate at a controversial primary election.
In a recent statement, the Lagos LP again stated that its embattled former candidate already withdrew from the party, hence the need for another primary election won by Rhodes-Vivour.
The statement read in part, “Upon his withdrawal and in line with the Electoral Act, a Substitution Primaries was scheduled to be conducted between Alhaji Moshood Salvador and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour on August 10th 2022.
“On 10th August 2022, a substitution primary was conducted and Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour emerged winner and became the Gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos State.”
The party further noted the highlighted the lawsuits filed by Awamaridi, first at the Federal High Court and later the Court of Appeal. He, however, lost both cases.
“On 2 February 2023, the three (3) panel of Judges unanimously dismissed Prof. Ifagbemi’s Appeal for being incompetent and violating the provision of the Elections Judicial Proceedings Practice Direction 2022. This concludes all the subsisting cases commenced by Prof. Ifagbemi against the candidature of Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour as the legitimate Gubernatorial Candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos State.
“It is imperative to state that Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2022 deals with the corporate structure of a political party and the need to maintain a register of its members. Ghadebo Rhodes Vivour was a member of Labour Party months before the Substitution Primary, and he remains our Gubernatorial Candidate for the March 18, 2023, Governorship and House of Assembly elections,” the statement added.
