Oro Festival Should Not Be Used To Disenfranchise Voters – GRV

Labour gubernatorial candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour (GRV) said the start of the Oro festival in parts of Lagos would not hurt his chances of winning Saturday’s gubernatorial election.

According to some media reports, Ikate’s Oba Elegushi and Ijegun’s Oba announced that the Oro Cult Festival will begin on Thursday and end on Saturday.

Rhodes-Vivour argued that the festival should not be used to prevent voters from exercising their rights.

“Traditional rulers know better not to do any festival that will in any way disenfranchise any voter,” he said in a video post shared on Wednesday.

A traditional Yoruba festival, women, visitors, and non-members of the cult are not permitted to witness the festival, and it usually comes with a curfew.

GRV has been tipped by many analysts to defeat the incumbent Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

His Labour Party won the presidential election in the state on February 25 despite intimidation by supporters of the APC presidential candidate.

The Labour Party’s governorship candidate insisted that Oro festival should not be used to scare people from coming out to vote, especially in the areas where LP won during the presidential election.

Labour Party defeated APC in Eti-Osa and Alimosho local councils where the festival is rumoured to be taking place.

GRV said: “We will come out in force and insist that [there will not be] any form of intimidation or harassment on Saturday, and our votes will count.”