The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, on Wednesday, urged residents to stand strong and keep their hopes alive despite the attacks and intimidation they had been experiencing after the presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
Speaking during a press conference, Rhodes-Vivour, who thanked Lagosians for their support during Saturday’s election, said votes of the supporters of the party within and beyond the state retired some members of the status quo in spite of the machinations of the powers that be to truncate it.
He said, “Our victory is for the people of Lagos and it has set up the foundation upon which we can change the status quo and begin to build a better Lagos moving forward. At this moment, I feel your despair, frustrations and anger at this system which callously tries to subvert our will and makes us feel like our votes don’t matter. Do not despair my people.
“Our votes actually count and it has retired some members of the status quo already. I have also heard about the threats they make to your livelihood, the intimidation of your businesses and the violence they have promised to unleash on you.
“Stand strong for I will stand firm with you through this all and together we shall prevail and after we achieve victory, none of them will dare you. We must keep the fire burning and even if they attempt to cower us, the only thing they cannot kill is our hope.
“Our hope has kept us going in the face of intimidation, thuggery and suppression. Our hope for a better Lagos and a better Nigeria has brought us this far. It has set us apart in this electoral cycle.”
Rhodes-Vivour, while appealing to the electorates to reach into their innermost recesses and draw strength to enable the party to emerge victorious in the forthcoming governorship and state House of Assembly elections, urged them not to give in to self-doubt or primordial fears.
He said, “We have come too far to turn back! I, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, a true blood of Lagos State promise to stand with you until the very end. When people are determined to make change happen no force on earth can prevent them from making that change. So we must never give up!
“I am but a vessel through which we will achieve the collective change we all seek and it is not I, but every single Lagosian who has been oppressed and victimised by the status quo that is running for this election. I am a trueborn Lagosian burning with fire for a new Lagos and I tell you that under this new Lagos, everyone who resides in Lagos State will be treated fairly and equitably.”