One Mr. Femi Awoniyi responded to Gbadebo P Rhodes-Vivour's broadcast as follows: "It is very sad that your candidacy has constituted nothing but a distraction in Lagos politics. Why do I say that? Because you have built your entire political career around identity politics. In your past Senate candidacy, you campaigned using your Igbo name, cultivated relationships with Igbo organisations, mobilised Igbo people and, in my view, played the ethnic card. It was your legitimate right to do so. But knowing the deep misunderstanding and distrust that exist between these two ethno-national groups, you should not complain if that same card is eventually turned against you. I think that is why your not speaking Yoruba became an issue. And I believe that your not learning Yoruba growing up was a choice, a deliberate one. I have many Igbo friends, both of whose parents are Igbo, with whom I grew up, and they all speak Yoruba. This is why I find it difficult to understand how someone whose father is reportedly Yoruba and who, according to your biography, was born in Ikeja could have grown up without speaking Yoruba. I believe that, for whatever reasons best known to you, was a deliberate choice. I see your candidacy as a sheer distraction. You have positioned yourself as the alternative to the APC in Lagos, but, in my view, you are not a credible alternative. For there is very little in your biography or professional experience that suggests you have the capacity to govern Lagos. The APC cannot and should not govern Lagos forever. Unfortunately, I believe you are hindering the emergence of a unifying alternative through your identity-driven politicking. That is a fact and it is very unfortunate." Picture: L: Gbadebo R: Femi Awoniyi