Olukayode Ezekiel Salako, a former Lagos State Chairman of the Labour Party, criticized Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (GRV), the party’s governorship candidate in the 2023 election, stating that he ran his campaign poorly and behaved like a sadist in politics.
Olukayode Salako In a statement released on Sunday, Salako described GRV as lacking character and claimed that if he had won, he would have set Lagos‘ progress back by 10 years. Salako also noted that Rhodes-Vivour was disrespectful towards the state executive council of the party and expressed irritation towards him and Yoruba people in the party. The former Labour Party chairman stated that Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour started to misbehave and tried to sideline him despite being the one that handed him the ticket for free. Salako on How he Chose GRV “Immediately I gave him the ticket free of charge, without negotiating, or charging him to give me anything, he started misbehaving, and making unhidden/uncultured moves to push me aside from his project. “I had thought I would give him the ticket, and the project would be our project. I had thought we would run things together to achieve the success together. My avowed mission then was to win Lagos for Labour Party, so that I can make a name for myself as the State Chairman. “I didn’t know much about him. I didn’t even bother to know. Badly enough, I didn’t even know he couldn’t write/speak the language of the state he wants to govern. He hid his nature from me. “I didn’t even know he has a popular Ibo name and speaks only Ibo language fluently. I only knew that his wife and mother are Ibos, which to me, would even make our party to get good votes from the Ibo population in the election.
GRV’s Attitude After Accepting Ticket “But, immediately he got the ticket, he started running things all alone with his EndSARS people and some Obidient movement allies. He sidelined almost all the Yorubas and prominent leaders and elders on the platform and suddenly became purely Ibo inclined. “Nothing Yoruba was ever attractive to him again. He stopped listening to me, or anybody in the party – Not even the elders and leaders I reported him to on few occasions. How GRV Lambasted Salako Publicly “He eventually did away with me. And, when I reported him to the elders and leaders in our party the first time, hear what he rudely said to me, his State Chairman, as at the time: ‘I am so mad at you right now Mr. Salako. Am I owing you anything, or sharing your wife with you? “’Do you think I don’t have a mind of my own, when I decided I want to come out to be governor. You can’t be sounding like a godfather in my life on this project. I don’t need a godfather, or anybody to keep telling me what to do. I have a mind of my own. “’Please, tell me. If I am owing you anything, I will pay you. Am I owing you anything, or what?! I am so mad at you right now. Am I sharing your wife with you, or owing you and your wife anything? “’Or, is there any secret thing we both did together? If there is any, please, you can say it here now and bla! bla!! bla!!! …’ “This response was openly in the presence of all the leaders and elders that were present at the meeting on that fateful day. How Labour Party Leaders Abandoned GRV “The chairman of the leaders/elders forum of our party then, who presided over the meeting that day, Chief Sumbo Onitiri, also eventually saw what I saw about him/the party in the course of the project, and backed out at the dying minute with disappointment. He is now accidentally a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. “Salvador, who is the apex leader of the party in the state, also backed out along with many other prominent stakeholders, including many of the LGA/LCDA Chairmen of the party. “I also stayed on my own throughout the period and voted for Babajide Sanwo-Olu to continue to run Lagos State as progressively peaceful as he has been running it over the last 3 years. Throughout my stay in office as the State Chairman of the party, vindictively he never got my office involved in anything; gave me anything, or did anything with me. “I got no ‘shishi’ or any encouragement to run my office, or anything as at the period. I was completely sidelined. All he was doing was working with my detractors for me to be removed as the State Chairman of the party, and he and his very bitchy deputy, Princess Abiodun Oyefusi. GRV Kicked Out Salako, Faced Brunt “Eventually got me removed about 1 month and few days to the February 25 presidential/national assembly election with the help of Dayo Ekong, the current ‘Margaret Thatcher’ caretaker chairman of the party in the state (which I nominated by myself to take over from me, because of my sincere love for her and the value I built for what we shared when I was in office) and Sam Okpala, the insatiable and domineering state secretary of the party. “Sam Okpala feels he owns the party. The party is his personal property. And so, he must be the one in control, or else, he would do anything to orchestrate your removal through his Abuja connection. “What was my offence?! Because, I reported him to the leaders in the party to tell him to do the right thing with the party, which he never did. All I was asking the governorship candidate of my party to do was to do the right thing with the party so that the party also can do the right thing with his project. How Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour Openly Condemned Labour Party leaders “He told all of us to our face that he didn’t trust us. He said we should stay away from his project. He said he had his own people he wanted to use to run his election, and we all simply obeyed. He didn’t want to be a ‘godson’ to Salako, his state chairman, but all along, Chief Bode George, the leader of the PDP in the state and his wife, were all he was listening to, and not anybody else in the Labour Party in the state.” Why GRV Lost Election to Sanwo-Olu He continued, “He simply lost the election to Babajide Sanwo-Olu. That margin of win by Sanwo-Olu wouldn’t have been that geometrically exponential if all of us had been involved. “Violence, or no violence on March 18, there was no way he would have won the ruling party in the state, because almost about 70% of all the prominent field work stakeholders in the party, were out of his project, including me, the man who led the team that built the political structures of the party in the state. “When Labour Party won the presidential election in Lagos State on February 25, all of us in the party were committedly and passionately involved. But, on March 18, it was more of only him; his EndSARS/few Obidient people and the emergency friends he imported from abroad at the tale end of the project. Why Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour Would’ve Set Lagos 10 Years Backward “God is not stupid! He does not reward betrayals; habitual ungratefulness; operational arrogance, self-centeredness, and bad leadership character with ‘holy’ greatness. “With what I know about him, he would have simply come to mess up Lagos, and set its progress 10 years behind. That guy is characterless! Honestly, the person who trained him didn’t do a good job. “He is so mannerless, mentally arrogant, proud, full of himself, very deceptive, self-centered, childish; mean-hearted, unforgiving, operationally vindictive and immature in almost everything.” Mistake of Working With Gbedebo Rhodes-Vivour “I could remember that one of the aspirants offered to give me 30 million naira and a brand-new Jeep car for him to get the ticket, during the period of the substitution primary election. “I refused and insisted on him because I thought the only way my party could win Lagos was to use a youth/or a middle-aged person, who could be so attractive enough to the electorate in the state,” Salako added.
Otti, also from the Labour Party, won the governorship election by polling 175,466 votes, defeating his closest opponent from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Okey Ahiwe, who received 88,526 votes. In a statement by Rhodes-Vivour’s media aide, Judith Akatugba, on Thursday, GRV congratulated Otti on his victory and expressed confidence that the people of Abia State made the right choice. He went on to encourage Otti to demonstrate to Nigerians that the Labour Party is exceptional. GRV Statment to Alex Otti on the Need for Labour Party to prove itself 
“I am confident that Sir Alex Otti will not waste time to prove to Nigerians through Abia state that indeed our great party, the Labour Party (LP), is an idea whose time has come. “I believe he will approach governance from the people-first perspectives, which the LP represents. “The people of Abia state have spoken and we have heard them loud and clear. They are obviously tired of leaders whose lives get better every day while the people suffer under-development amidst poverty. They have chosen to end the long years of deceit and corruption which have characterised governance in the state, despite the huge resources at the beck and call of Abia state. We appreciate their trust in the Labour Party and we assure them they will never regret this. “To my brother, the governor-elect, this is the time to get to work without delay. The job starts now and not until after the inauguration. There is a need to prove to other states and Nigerians as a whole that the Labour Party (LP) is in a class of its own, and through you, we strengthen the movement of retiring those who have hoodwinked many Nigerians into believing that they are the best the nation can produce. “Once again, I congratulate you and wish you a development-filled administration in Abia state.” 
The incumbent governor was declared the winner of the March 18th gubernatorial election by the INEC after clearing 19 out of 20 LGAs in the state. Rhodes-Vivour characterized the election as a fraudulent one while sharing a video at a press conference to illustrate how the election results were manipulated to benefit Sanwo-Olu. GRV on Why he Won’t Congratulate Sanwo-Olu 
Following the announcement of the incumbent governor, Sanwo-Olu leading in the state after clearing 17 Local Government Areas out of 20, GRV released a statement. In a series of tweets, the Labour Party candidate insisted that APC used thugs to intimidate his supporters and that results from his situation room confirmed that he won. Statement from GRV Rejecting Lagos State’s Election Results “Firstly, I would like to thank all Lagosians, especially our supporters for coming out to vote yesterday for us. I’m convinced that with you in our corner, a NEW Nigeria is imminent. However, I am saddened by the confirmed reports of violence and gross disenfranchisement of voters who only wished to perform their civic duty. Attacks on polling units, voters, and our party agents are totally antithetical to what we stand for & what Lagos truly represents. Collusion between the ruling party and electoral officials to return the candidate of the APC is a slap on the face of democracy and everyone who came out to vote for us on Saturday. In the light of this, I am convinced beyond any doubt that the results being released by INEC do not represent the wishes of majority of peaceful Lagosians. More so the results from our field agents and situation room indicated that we won this election. I am a champion of the people, we are far from done. Do not lose hope, do not waver. This is not over, we have not come this far to accept outright lies, criminality & falsehoods. A fight for FREEDOM is never easily won. Every vote cast for me was done in the face of intimidation and risk of personal harm. Every such vote must count. Defending every one of those votes is a sacred duty. I will defend your votes – this is my vow to every LP voter.” 
During the gubernatorial elections, GRV had alleged that a party member of his was shot and killed. He called out APC and INEC to impose an order to avoid a reaction that may cause ‘Lagos to catch fire.’ According to a statement released on Saturday, the ruling party’s Publicity Secretary in the state, Mr. Seye Oladejo, expressed that the APC had no justification for violence. “The attention of the APC has been drawn to a statement made by LP’s governorship candidate Mr Gbadebo Chinedu Rhodes-Vivour on Saturday’s elections. “He accused INEC and the police of `provoking Lagosians’ and warning that `if tonight Lagos State catches fire, it is not our fault’. He says `a lot of places are still under attack by thugs and hooligans of the APC. “This scaremongering is typical of bad losers who lack the spirit of sportsmanship,’’ Oladejo stated. “Should there be any breakdown of law and order in any part of our state, law enforcement agencies should know who to grab – Mr Rhodes-Vivour,’’ he added. Watch GRV’s speak below … Labour Party Governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour says that an agent of the party was shot dead in Apapa Lagos state pic.twitter.com/HmhaxM4pWL — GistReel.Com (@GistReel) March 18, 2023 Mr. Oladejo also mentioned that the APC is in the process of documenting reports of how its supporters were subjected to harassment and violence during the election, stating that some of the reports were particularly alarming. 
GRV criticized politicians who seek to divide the inhabitants of Lagos State by claiming that it solely belongs to the Yoruba people during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, March 09, 2023. The LP candidate stated that such politicians have ulterior motives, and his statement is in contrast to the stance of some APC stakeholders, including former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, who insist that Lagos solely belongs to the Yoruba people. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour argued that it contradicts the notion that Lagos is a no man’s land while referencing the silence of some Yoruba leaders during the herdsmen invasion in some parts of Nigeria. In his words; “Lagos State has been in harmony for a long time. What happens is politicians try to divide us. Let us be wary of politicians who remember that they are Yoruba when it is time for politics. “When Fulani herdsmen were making incursions into Oyo and people like Sunday Igboho, and Rotimi Akeredolu stood up, a lot of politicians in Lagos were quiet. They played politics with it. GRV added, “When it was time for Amotekun, they were quiet. They were quiet on so many interests of the Yoruba people because they wanted an alliance with the north. “So, they put their political interest above the interest of their people. And all of a sudden, it is election time and they are reminding you that this person does not speak Yoruba.”