A former governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has criticised the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state following the endorsement of Deputy Governor Kadri Obafemi Hamzat as its consensus candidate ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Rhodes-Vivour, who previously contested under the Labour Party and is now associated with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the remarks in a post reacting to the decision of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), the apex political decision-making body of the Lagos APC, which recently adopted Hamzat as its preferred candidate for the next governorship race.
In his statement, Rhodes-Vivour argued that the political process in Lagos State should not be determined by a small group of party leaders or any single individual, stressing that only residents of the state have the legitimate authority to decide who governs them.
He described the endorsement process as undemocratic, insisting that Lagosians must be allowed to freely choose their leaders without what he termed elite imposition.
He further called for what he described as a restoration of “people-driven governance” in the state ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Lagos APC’s decision by the GAC has already begun to generate political reactions, as stakeholders continue to debate internal party consensus-building and its implications for opposition parties ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Neither the Lagos State Government nor the APC leadership has issued an official response to Rhodes-Vivour’s comments at the time of this report.
The APC, and particularly Mr President, are mistaken to believe they have stripped Lagosians of agency.
That who becomes governor or when to remove the said governor is reduced to the feelings or hallucinations of one man and a gang of kleptocrats, is insulting to many and must… https://t.co/tyrvITJ6nK
— Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (@GRVlagos) April 28, 2026
