Being a statement released by Prince Tonye
Princewill on his 2015 gubernatorial ambition:
After extensive consultation on the next steps to
follow, I and my team have decided that we no
longer have a future in PDP and that win or lose,
going forward, we will now be building our future
here in the Labour party. Just as we refused to
return to APC having since left it’s parent
organisation in 2010, our departure from PDP is
also final. It was not an easy decision to make, I
made many friends there and I still have a lot of
respect for many men and women within the party,
just as I do within the APC, but this is not the
reason I entered politics. I came to change the
politics, not to maintain the status quo or make
friends. I no longer feel I have enough allies or a
willing platform to achieve this goal and so I must
move on. The struggle continues.
Some have asked that I maintain a dignified silence
and remain within the PDP or that I should quit
politics altogether. But I need to be able to look my
children in the eye. This is not the Nigeria, I can
defend, because this politics and its conduct are the
very foundations on which this nation are built. I
refuse to give up on Nigeria and so I can not give up
on its politics. Politics as I say time and time again
is too too important to be left to politicians. I only
wish more of us appreciate this and join me where I
think we really can make a difference. This pattern
truly is not sustainable, the status quo will no longer
hold. I have to do this for the sake of our children.
I would like to thank the Labour Party and its
national leadership for giving me a reception fit for a
King and the warm way the state leadership have
embraced our arrival. I always complain that our
political parties lack ideology and do not have an
identity of their own but that position can not be
levelled at Labour. With a social democratic
ideology, a detailed manifesto and policies that
closely mirror mine, I feel most at home here.
Politics does not always have to be about just
winning. It can be about doing the right thing as
well. Finally, unlike previous political decisions that I
took with only my political family, this consultation
cut across all walks of my life. I want to thank you
all for your contributions. From social media to
private communications and the political equivalent
of smoke filled rooms, you took the time to lend us
your voice. I want to thank you for all your
contributions. Even when we disagreed.
With the help of the BOT Chairman, our able
Chairmen at national and state levels and the
executive of the party here in Rivers state, I want to
use this opportunity to reach out to all aggrieved
PDP and APC aspirants who have their people’s
interests above their own, potential aspirants who
never thought politics would give them a chance
and opinion leaders who are left everyday to pick
up the pieces of bad governance to come and join
the next government of Rivers state. The Bible says,
“When the righteous rule, the people will rejoice.” I
make bold to say, the right people have arrived.
Stop wasting your time on politics as usual, and
come and rejoice here with us. Rivers state needs
choice, not imposition. We choose to be free.
Signed
Tonye Princewill