“I’ll Use My Personal Vehicle as Governor if Things Stay Tough” — Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour

Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said that if elected Governor of Lagos State, he would adopt a radically different approach to leadership focused on transparency, accountability, and frugality. Speaking in an exclusive interview, the 42-year-old politician described himself as a servant leader who would lead from the front rather than from behind a desk.

Rhodes-Vivour stated that if economic conditions remained difficult, he would not indulge in extravagant spending on jets or fleets of new government vehicles, opting instead to continue using his personal car. According to him, public funds must be channelled toward improving the quality of life for Lagosians.

“If things are difficult, I’m not going to use my money to be buying jets or many brand-new cars,” he said. “I will use my personal vehicle because I understand how difficult things are currently. I must use the resources we have to maximise the lives and cultural lives of other Lagosians.”

He expressed concern over the lack of transparency in government expenditures, stressing the need for systems that allow citizens to track how public funds are used. “If the government is saying that we do not have money, it should reflect in how the government spends its money. If the government is calling for transparency and accountability, it must also be transparent and accountable,” he said.

Rhodes-Vivour also criticised the inflated costs often associated with government procurement. “You start to understand that the politics and the way they’re doing governance is just an SPV to maximise their returns and money for themselves, their cronies and their family,” he remarked, citing examples of vehicles budgeted at N45 million despite being worth N10 million on the open market.

Calling for a long-term approach to tackling poverty, he urged the Lagos State Government to emulate China’s model of investing in human capital, infrastructure, and skills development. “Look at what China did. In less than 40 years, they’ve lifted millions of people out of poverty by investment in human capacity development, investment in infrastructure, investment in the quality of life and skillset that these people have,” he said.

Rhodes-Vivour’s comments signal his commitment to reshaping governance in Lagos with a people-centred, cost-conscious agenda.