2027: ‘I Don’t Pad Budgets, I’m Not A Thief’ – Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has vowed to run a transparent administration if elected governor in the forthcoming election.

Naija News reports that Rhodes-Vivour, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said integrity sets him apart from the ruling party, stressing that he would not pad budgets if elected.

According to GRV, as he is fondly called, his vision is to make an impact that improves the quality of life for Lagosians because he is not in the race to run a business or company.

He also expressed confidence that Lagosians would support him, saying he has remained consistent in his ideas for moving the state forward.

He said, “My vision is to make impact and enhance the quality of life of Lagosians. I am not here to run a business, I am not here to run a company. I am here to impact maximally the quality of lives of Lagosians and that is where the difference is, and that is where integrity comes in, I don’t pad budgets, I am not a thief.

“Look at all the budgets that you see, a generator that cost 16 million they are putting it as 160 million in the budget. The present governor, we read that air freshener was 2 billion, he said it was a typo, that it’s 20 million.”

Rhodes-Vivour also responded to questions from his opponents’ camps about his ability to speak Yoruba and his family origin.

He said he would campaign in Yoruba when necessary, but would not allow such issues to distract him from the serious challenges facing Lagos, adding that the most important thing was understanding the issues affecting the people.

He added, “I have always said language, culture are extremely important and we will campaign when we need to campaign. But we need to address these issues that are affecting many Lagosians.

“And what I find with the APC is they strategically consistently make us major on the minors and we don’t deal with the real issues affecting Lagosians. So, in this campaign season I will always bring it back to the issues. I am not going to allow any distractions, you can call me any name you like, lie about my family heritage and all of that, it is fine.

“My family, language, all of that is not going to change the situation that people are facing in traffic.”