The African Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has said he will conduct part of his campaign in Yoruba as he prepares for the 2027 governorship election.
Rhodes-Vivour, popularly known as GRV, disclosed this during an interview with Arise TV on Thursday, while discussing the importance of language and culture in political engagement across Lagos.
The ADC candidate, who contested the 2023 Lagos governorship election under the Labour Party, said he had taken steps to improve his knowledge of Yoruba after language became a subject of discussion during the previous campaign.
He explained that he had engaged a Yoruba teacher and had been learning the language, adding that he intended to use Yoruba during his interactions with voters in the forthcoming election.
The issue of language had featured prominently during the 2023 campaign after comments by Rhodes-Vivour that he did not “think in Yoruba” generated public discussion.
However, the politician said his focus for the 2027 election would extend beyond language and ethnicity.
Rhodes-Vivour identified flooding, housing and traffic as some of the issues he said were affecting residents across Lagos, regardless of their ethnic or linguistic backgrounds.
He argued that these challenges cut across communities and should therefore form part of the wider conversation about the state’s governance and development.
The ADC candidate finished second in the 2023 Lagos governorship election behind the incumbent, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress.
With Rhodes-Vivour now representing the ADC, the party has also named Babatunde Gbadamosi as his running mate for the 2027 Lagos governorship election.
The latest declaration comes as political parties and their candidates intensify preparations for the 2027 Lagos election, with language, governance, infrastructure and living conditions expected to feature prominently in campaign discussions.
