The lingering skirmishes over the governorship ticket of the Labour Party (LP) has been resolved by the party’s National leadership after the issuance of certificate to Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour.
Prince Ifagbami Awamaridi, LP State Chairman, had claimed that he is also the governorship candidate of the party in Lagos State.
He insisted that he won the party’s primaries, and thereafter, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published his name on the list of governorship candidates.
The LP National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, at a press conference in Lagos, declared Rhodes-Vivour the authentic governorship candidate of the party, denoting Awamaridi as a place holder. The LP recent substitution primaries produced Rhodes-Vivour as the party’s governorship candidate.
Arabambi maintained that the party had concluded all necessary documentation with INEC on the new candidate, warning that LP has zero-tolerance for “unscrupulous and dubious politics that Awamaridi was allegedly exhibiting.”
He declared: “For a candidate for election to emerge in a political party, it has to go through a constitutional process.
“The emergence of Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour as the 2023 Lagos state governorship candidate of the LP followed all necessary laws, regulations and guidelines as provided in our Constitution, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and INEC guidelines.
“Simply to put the records straight, Awamaridi was the chairman of the LP Lagos State Caretaker Committee at one point.
“He was made a placeholder for the governorship primary election, thus, his name was submitted as the governorship candidate since Lagos LP was yet to finally conclude all the required processes.
“The place holder status given to Ifagbemi Awamaridi was one from which he formally tendered official resignation.
“Awamaridi’s letter of resignation was willfully, voluntarily, and clearly signed and tendered. Of course, documents don’t lie. He has ceased to be our gubernatorial candidate.”