In this interview, Labour Party’s 2023 governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, claims that the Tinubu-led Federal Government has been one of confusion. He condemns the high level of unemployment, rising rate of inflation, and the increasing prices of goods. He also accuses the Lagos State government of not efficiently using the commonwealth to generate a good quality of life for the masses. Excerpts:
The Federal Government has plans to deduct N20 trillion from pension funds for infrastructural development, what’s your take on that?
I keep saying that a government that has not shown itself to be responsible, borrows money to fuel abnormal and obscene consumption instead of funding production. They are neither efficient nor properly accountable to the people who, in effect, are responsible for paying back these loans via taxes and other means taken from them.
Now, we have a situation where there are already issues with people receiving their pensions in a timely fashion. They’ve worked and retired, and now the government wants to take money from that in the name of investment. We have seen how many loans have been taken by this government, yet there has been no accountability regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of how this money was spent. Now, they want to go into people’s pensions, targeting individuals who are already disadvantaged because these pensions do not keep up with inflation, cost of living, fuel, rent, or food.
This same government wants to dip their hands into pensions with the same sort of recklessness, without any transparency, accountability, or efficiency. What are they actually spending this money on? For instance, they want to spend N1 trillion on the coastal highway, while most of the inner roads between our cities and within the states are in disrepair. These roads have not been fixed, yet they want to build a coastal highway. Our education system is in shambles, which leads to a situation where we have an unproductive economy. Children who should be in school learning skills to contribute productively to the economy are not receiving the education they need. As a result, we continue borrowing to fund consumption. There is a lot of inefficiency in how the government prioritizes its spending. It is unfortunate that people who have worked so hard now see their pensions potentially at risk.
How would you briefly assess the President Tinubu-led government as it clocks one year?
The Tinubu-led government has been one of confusion. I’ve always said that a person who forces his way into office through various illegal means can never work in the interest of the people. We see the high level of unemployment, the rising rate of inflation, and the increasing prices of goods. People are suffering, businesses are going under, and many are being laid off. It’s very sad.
Additionally, there is a significant level of propaganda and lies. Announcements made by the presidency often turn out to be false. It seems as though they want to rule through propaganda. What is truly required is creating an economy that allows people to thrive and be productive. The solution is not through propaganda or excessive taxation, especially when people are already suffering.
Furthermore, it’s about people using money to the maximum advantage, creating productivity among citizens. Instead, we have a government that understands the poor state of the economy yet still purchases luxury cars, funds the First Lady’s office, and renovates buildings for the Chief of Staff at astronomical prices.
Meanwhile, Nigerians and Lagosians are not getting the best deals. Take the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, for instance, which was awarded without a proper bid or tender for over N1 trillion. They claimed the contractor would bring their own money, but we see that it is Nigerians who are funding this investor. These inefficiencies and questionable deals do not benefit Lagosians, and it appears that our common wealth is being looted.
President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to exercise more patience in view of the hardship in the country. What is your take on this?
People are always being asked to be patient and to tighten their belts, but is the government tightening their belts? We saw a large delegation attend COPA, including many who had no business being there, and the government paid exorbitant amounts for their attendance. Is the government tightening their belts when they buy new cars for themselves and spend excessive money? This issue extends to state governments as well. For example, Governor Sanwo-Olu is reportedly spending N2 billion a month on private flights with helicopters and planes. They are also spending N475 million on jeeps. It’s a problem when only the people are expected to suffer. That is exactly what it seems like, and it is not acceptable.
It appears the Labour Party is no longer strong in Lagos as to enjoy the type of acceptance it had in the last general election, do you really think so?
I do not agree that the Labour Party is not strong in Lagos or lacks acceptance. Many people are devastated by the sham elections that were conducted. A lot of people are losing hope in the electoral and judicial systems, which is very dangerous for any society and any democracy.
“Instead, we see a situation where significant amounts of money are being spent on frivolous things like flying private jets for n1.2 billion in a month or luxury cars costing n475 million for just two cars”
What is your take on Lagos government demolition of buildings, the latest being Mende, Maryland, despite the hues and cry of the residents?
The demolition of buildings by the Lagos State government reeks of irresponsibility and a lack of empathy. This is especially concerning given that the same party and group of individuals have controlled governance in Lagos State for over 20 years. They have been complicit in this illegality, whether by granting planning permissions that should not have been given or by failing in monitoring and oversight as these buildings reached roof level. They must acknowledge their complicity, not just for the right of way, but also for the housing needs of the people affected.
What is this fight between NLC and the Labour Party leadership headed by Abure all about?
Now, with every party, it’s about interest. There will always be conflicts, but they come together and resolve them. That’s what you’re seeing. You will see it across all parties, and that’s what you see in the Labour Party with NLC and the Labour Party. I’m sure it will be resolved as it always has been.
How would you access Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration in Lagos State?
My assessment of the Sanwo-Olu administration is that it is still a government that lacks empathy. Consider how they came into office by violence, intimidation, and hurting the people they want to govern. You don’t expect that the violence will stop, so you see it in how houses are being demolished without any appreciation of the fact that the government was also complicit in many of these projects.
They got to the roof; they got their planning permission and some kind of title. Even if they did not get this, the government has a right and duty to monitor buildings happening across all local governments, which they do. Clearly, somebody has been compromised for the government to have allowed this to reach this position. Also, with all these demolitions, you don’t see them arresting any developer or trying to get money refunded to the innocent victims of these demolitions. We are not seeing anybody in government being held accountable, sacked, or even imprisoned for compromising the plans and vision of the state and causing huge distress to Lagos citizens.
Instead, we see a situation where significant amounts of money are being spent on frivolous things like flying private jets for N1.2 billion in a month or luxury cars costing N475 million for just two cars. More than that, for the Chief of Staff’s office, earlier in 2023, we discussed how N200 million was taken out to pay for his private legal case. We also highlighted the N2 billion that they said was used to buy fans and so many other things. We are seeing a lot of looting of our commonwealth. Even the structures that they are building, like the blue rail line and the red line, the red coaches, and the stations, at what cost? Are we getting value for our money? If you see the amount of money these people are spending on consultancy to draw and design bus routes, it is in billions of Naira.
Meanwhile, this money would have been more useful in our educational institutions, partnering with international best standard institutions to get innovative designs for our universities at a fraction of the cost. We are not seeing a government that is efficiently using our commonwealth to generate a good quality of life for the masses. We are seeing a commonwealth just being squandered by people who feel that they don’t have to account to the people for how this money is spent. That’s my assessment. I feel like when leadership does not really believe that they are accountable to the people, but more accountable to a godfather, they work in the interest of the godfather, not the people.
