Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the governorship candidate of the Lagos Labour Party, has criticised the Supreme Court for confirming Babajide Sanwo-Olu's electoral victory, saying the apex court has set a dangerous precedent that would allow dual citizens to become president or governor in Nigeria.
“Today, the Supreme Court set a precedent: a governor or president can have multiple allegiances to states other than Nigeria and still be the chief security officer of Lagos or Nigeria,” Mr Rhodes-Vivour said, posting a screenshot of Section 182 Nigerian constitution.
“The Section 182 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria reads: (1) No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if – (a) subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country.”
Mr Rhodes-Vivour, in a tweet after the apex court upheld Mr Sanwo-Olu's victory on Friday, said, “while I accept this shocking decision of the Supreme Court, I worry for what this precedent means for future generations being led by leaders with conflict of interest and loyalty.
“There is no Liberal Democracy that will agree to be led by an individual who has sworn an oath of allegiance to another country. Citizens should not have to question the loyalty of their commander-in-chief or the chief security officer of their state. That said, as the court pleases,” he added.
Mr Sanwo-Olu secured a total of 762,134 votes to beat Mr Rhodes-Vivour, who secured 312,329 votes, and Abdul-Azeez Adediran (Jandor) of the Peoples Democratic Party, who secured 62,449 votes.
The legal battle over the March 2023 governorship election ended after the Supreme Court validated Mr Sanwo-Olu's victory, rejecting petitions from two opposition candidates, Mr Rhodes-Vivour and Peoples Democratic Party’s Mr Adediran.