A one-time Rivers state governorship candidate and Prince of Kalabari kingdom, Prince Tonye Princewill has reiterated his comment recently that there are usually no elections in Rivers state as results are written to pick those chosen by the authorities.
In a follow-up interview with Princewill by Legit.ng, he said it’s no longer news to say that elections in Rivers state are conducted through the barrel of guns, stating that the only hope right now is the passage of the new electoral act into law.
Princewill said that the new electoral law has sent fear into the camp of politicians who have now seen that it’s no longer business as usual.
Princewill who believes that there are people in government who control everybody including the law enforcement agents said until there is a proper respect for the rule of law, nothing is going to change. He said despite the situation, once there is a call from Abuja, no matter the alarm raised, everything will just go quiet, and “nothing will come out of it.”
According to Princewill who accused the media of keeping quiet and failing to report the true situation of things:
“It’s mere noise-making to raise the alarm in Nigeria over things that have gone wrong, particularly when it has to do with politics and elections”.
Princewill also accused some All Progressives Congress, APC, members in Abuja of interfering in the 2019 Rivers election, thereby influencing its outcome. He said everything was done to deny Amaechi a better space in the presidency.
According to him:
“Some people believe Amaechi was becoming too powerful, and consequently instructed that he be frustrated. Some of these people believe that if Amaechi’s candidate wins Rivers, they were going to have problems in 2023. There was a call from Abuja that everything should be put on hold. They gave it to Wike because they were not comfortable with Amaechi’s relationship with the president.”
Princewill said further:
“We write results in Rivers State. Who will be entering into the River area when some of the hard guys are stationed with GPMG and all kinds of weapons? In front of the River, the INEC officials will just give them the sheet, instructing them to write and return to them. So in the actual sense, we don’t do elections in Rivers State.
“So it amounts to mere self-deception to be talking about election in Rivers state. In 2007 election, the results were written inside government house. I know how much was given to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC. If you like go to court and make all kinds of noise, they have written it, and that’s final. The court doesn’t help the situation at all. If you like, go to court,’’ the Rivers governoship aspirants said.
Legit.ng recalls that some APC faithful in Rivers state have demanded that capable men be allowed into the seat of power come 2023. One of those they believe was capable of the job was Tonye Princewill.
A cross-section of APC women of different ethnic groups in Nigeria but residents in Rivers state have recently passed a vote of confidence on Tonye Princewill, suggesting that the state needs a political leader like him. They consequently called on him to present himself for the state’s top job.
Princewill has also restated his commitment to consult widely before resolving to run for the governorship position.