Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (GRV), Labour Party’s 2023 Lagos gubernatorial candidate, on July 1, 2025, declared President Bola Tinubu’s administration a “failure,” warning that a divided opposition cannot afford to split votes in the 2027 elections.
GRV criticized the APC’s handling of Nigeria’s economy, citing a 33% inflation rate, a 12,000 MW power deficit, and a Naira devaluation costing 20 million Nigerians their savings. “The opposition must unite under one platform to defeat Tinubu’s APC, or we risk another four years of hardship,” he said, endorsing the National Coalition of Political Opposition Movement led by David Mark.
GRV, leveraging his 1.3 million votes from 2023, emphasized the coalition’s potential to secure 15 million votes, drawing parallels to the 2015 APC merger that ousted PDP. The coalition, backed by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, plans to integrate Labour Party’s 6 million-member base and PDP’s 20 million supporters.
GRV highlighted Lagos’ 7 million voters, 60% of whom face unemployment, as critical to the coalition’s strategy. He proposed a N1 trillion economic recovery plan, focusing on SMEs, which employ 80% of Nigerians. The coalition’s next meeting, set for August 2025, aims to finalize leadership roles, with GRV tipped for a mobilization role.