Exposed! Onitsha Traders Funding GRV Campaigns In Lagos – Source
By Labake Fadola
The candidature of Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (GRV) of the Labour Party, LP, in the forthcoming 18th March Gubernatorial Election in Lagos State, has continued to attract layers of controversies and mixed reactions from various quarters.
GRV as popularly called still has a case bothering on candidate authencity currently at the Supreme Court with another candidate, Professor Ifagbemi Awamaridi.
He was also said to have contravened Section 77 of the Electoral Act, which says if a contestant is leaving a party to another one, such must have been there, at least, for one month, that is, the party register would have been with INEC 30 days before the party primary.
GRV has also come under public scrutiny for trying to score political gain with his new name Gbadebo, as copies of his certificates and documents which leaked online indicate his names as PATRICK RHODES-VIVOUR with GBADEBO no where on any of his documents.
READ MORE: Staff Racism: Seplat CEO, Roger Brown’s Visa, Work Permits Revoked by FG
With days to the election, another fresh controversy is on the rise. With no genuine source of income or revenue generated by the Labour Party Governorship Candidate, many are asking who and how GRV has been funding his campaign.
Interestingly, the recent N15 Million donation from GRV to victims of a fire incident at Akere Spare Parts Market in Apapa Area of the State has further heightened the controversies around GRV’s funding.
A reliable source has however revealed that the campaign of GRV has been funded largely by the Onitsha traders under the umbrella of the Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, OMATA, who are bent on taking over Lagos from the incumbent.
This was confirmed by a former member of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, who revealed that the Group has vowed to spare no expenses just to grab power in Lagos.
It was said that the sum of #500million was handed to GRV and there was a move to gather and donate #10 billion to fully fund the election before the initial postponement by INEC.
The victory recorded at the February 25th Presidential Election, that saw the Labour Party, LP, Presidential Candidate, Peter Gregory Obi winning the State was a morale booster and has built their confidence that they could spring up a surprise and win the Governorship Election in the State.
The Source added that the OMATA members are Billionaires who hail from Anambra State and have been holding strategic meetings, all in a desperate bid to hijack Lagos State from the All Progressives Congress, APC.
We further gathered that OMATA was sponsoring the Campaign of GRV to have a grip of the economic fortunes of the State and turn it to a permanent base, with Lagos being the commercial hub of the nation.
The source revealed that the candidate neither had any consistent career time to gather significant funds from nor attract any financial chest from party to wrestle for the soul of Lagos State with the incumbent but has powered his campaign activities with the financial prowess from OMATA.
