APC Thugs Threatened To Harm Me, Fired Tear Gas, Rhodes-Vivour Alleges

The 2023 Lagos State governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has alleged that operatives of the Lagos State Government threatened him and fired tear gas at him during a visit to Jakande Housing Estate, Ilesan, Lagos.

In a post on X, Rhodes-Vivour said he witnessed what he described as a lawless demolition carried out by the government, despite a court injunction restraining the exercise.

He claimed that residents were beaten, including an engineer identified as Maro, who he said was left in a coma, as authorities attempted to clear land for developers.

“The brazen daylight rape of citizen rights carried out by the APC lagos government must be resisted,” Rhodes-Vivour said.

He accused the government of using violence to secure land for unaffordable housing, worsening homelessness among youth, and exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis in the state.

According to Rhodes-Vivour, landlords were either rendered homeless overnight or offered N11m in compensation, which he described as insufficient to cover even a year’s rent in the same area.

“Thugs, dressed as task force operatives even had the audacity to threaten to harm me and then fired tear gas at me. This is the thugocracy that the APC government has reduced Lagos to. A government of lawless land grabbers and thugs that rely on violence to secure their power.

“How long will we continue this anti-poor wicked governance. Landlords were made homeless overnight or were offered 11million naira, which can barely pay a years rent in the same environs,” he said.

He also invoked the legacy of the late former governor Lateef Jakande, who built the estate to provide affordable housing for the poor.

Rhodes-Vivour criticised the current administration for dismantling such initiatives and displacing both indigenous and migrant communities.

“Alhaji Jakande built housing for the poor, yet people that have not achieved close to what he delivered are focused on demolishing and constantly pushing the poor away, from indigenous communities to migrant ones, everyone is affected.

“This demolition, power drunk government has to go,” he said.

As of the time of filing this report, the Lagos State Government had not responded to the allegations.

THE WHISTLER reports that residents of Jakande Estate, Ilesan, on Tuesday, held a peaceful protest at the Lagos State House of Assembly complex, opposing what they described as attempts by the state government to carry out further demolitions of their homes.

Leading the demonstrators, Abdulhameed Shuaib urged Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to halt the demolition activities, honour the existing court injunction, and ensure a fair and transparent resolution to the dispute.