The Labour Party (LP) Governorship Candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has dismissed the trending reports on social media that he was kicked out of the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, during his visit to the monarch.
He described the reports as not only fake, wicked, and lacking the Yoruba spirit, but also, more despicably, a disrespect to the position of the Ooni himself, who is the custodian of the customs and traditions of The Source.
It should be recalled that the LP chieftain, Rhodes-Vivour, visited the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, at his palace in Ile-Ife on Monday, April 28, 2025.
Rhodes-Vivour’s media team issued a statement to clarify the situation, explaining that, upon his arrival, the LP chieftain, as a respected Yoruba son from the Popo Aguda area of Lagos Island, was accorded the respect he deserved and was ushered with honor into the presence of the Ojaja II.
The media team further stated that the Ooni and Rhodes-Vivour had a conversation, which ended on a positive note. “The guest departed the palace and returned safely to his base in Lagos,” the statement added.
The statement also emphasized that the Ooni is not a politician, urging that no political foot-soldier or commander should politicize any audience he grants to any bona fide Yoruba son or daughter from any part of the Yoruba-speaking South West region.
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“As such, it is important to debunk and dismiss the claim that Mr. Rhodes-Vivour was kicked out of the Ooni of Ife’s palace during the visit. This claim is not only fake and wicked, but it also lacks the Yoruba spirit and, more despicably, is a disrespect to the position of the Ooni, who is the custodian of the customs and traditions of The Source,” the statement clarified.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Obalefun Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, a respected Yoruba son from the Ibile Eko of the Popo Aguda area of Lagos Island, was, upon his arrival, accorded the respect he deserves and was ushered with honor into the presence of Ojaja II.
They both had a conversation, and the meeting ended on a positive note. The guest departed the palace and returned safely to his base in Lagos. It must be noted that the Ooni is not a politician, and no political foot-soldier or commander should politicize any audience he grants to any bona fide Yoruba son or daughter from any part of the Yoruba-speaking South West region,” the statement said.
In further dismissing the report as a misrepresentation “by politically motivated bloggers,” the media team reassured “supporters, friends, and fellow indigenous Lagosians who see Rhodes-Vivour as their only and authentic renewed hope that, at no time, will he be distracted from his commitment to the people of Lagos by malicious and mischievous rumor-mongering from such enemies.”
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