The Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has called out the Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for allegedly spending the total sum of N200 million belonging to the state on election litigation
In a post on his verified X platform, which was formerly Twitter, on Sunday, Rhodes-Vivour said that the governor had utilized the money to support legal challenges to his victory in the March 18 election at the state governorship election petition tribunal and appeal court.
In March, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Sanwo-Olu as the winner of the March 18 governorship election. Not satisfied with the result, Rhodes-Vivour headed to the Lagos state governorship election tribunal. On September 25, the tribunal dismissed the case. Displeased with the verdict, the LP candidate filed 21 grounds of appeal challenging the judgement of the tribunal.
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A three-member panel of the appellate court headed by Justice Yargata Nimpa last week dismissed the appeals filed by the LP candidate and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Abdulaziz Adediran aka Jandor for lack of merit.
Rhodes-Vivour’s claim came a few hours after the African Democratic Party (ADC) governorship candidate in the state, Funso Doherty, accused the state government of allocating about N4 billion on luxury items such as duffers, refrigerators, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and fans, among others.
He wrote: “We took Mr. Sanwo-Olu, Mr. Hamzat, APC, and INEC to court. We did not take @Lagosstategov to court. Why should the state fund his legal fees? Why should citizens’ taxes be used to pay for his representation?
“This is why they are always quick to say, ‘Go to court’ because they are so irresponsible and cheap, to not even pick up their legal bills.”
