Lagos governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said he will campaign in Yoruba ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Rhodes-Vivour made the disclosure during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday while responding to questions about his ability to speak Yoruba.
His language ability became a subject of criticism during the 2023 Lagos governorship election, particularly after an interview in which he said he did not “think in Yoruba.”
Rhodes-Vivour said he has since taken steps to learn the language and hired a Yoruba teacher, stressing that language and culture are important parts of engaging with residents.
“This tribal thing, speaking language situation and all that. Yes, culture and language is very important and I’ve gotten a Yoruba teacher, and I’ve learned Yoruba, and I’ll campaign in Yoruba, and that is wonderful,” he said.
The ADC candidate, however, said his campaign would not be centred solely on language or ethnicity.
He pointed to flooding, housing and traffic as issues affecting residents across Lagos, regardless of their ethnic or linguistic backgrounds.
“My passionate interest is to ensure that we have a Lagos that no longer stinks,” Rhodes-Vivour said.
He argued that the impact of problems such as flooding, the housing shortage and traffic congestion is experienced by residents across the state.
“Everybody is experiencing the failure of our flooding, of our housing crisis, of the traffic, of the loss of dignity of Lagosians, and that connects all of us, regardless of language,” he added.
Rhodes-Vivour contested the 2023 Lagos governorship election on the platform of the Labour Party and finished second behind the incumbent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, according to the reported election results. He is now seeking the governorship of Lagos on the ADC platform ahead of the 2027 election.
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