Prince Tonye, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in
Rivers State, said he dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because
of a lack of internal democracy which was exemplified during the
December 8 governorship primary.
He alleged that the PDP refused to provide a level playing field for all the aspirants who had declared an interest in the governorship election.
He said that he would have stayed with the PDP to realise his governorship ambition had the party not favoured Nyesom Wike, and that he could not remain in the party because he sincerely wanted to address the issue of poverty, which was his main agenda.
Tonye explained that he was not against the entry of Wike in the
race, but was unhappy at the way those in charge of the PDP in the state
made it clear that they would make it very difficult for other
aspirants to succeed in the primaries.
According to Prince Tonye, after buying the governorship form with N11 million, he was asked to pay another N3 million, and another N2 million to correct the mistake of disqualification that the leadership of the party made.
Tonye, speaking at a forum organized by the Federated Correspondents Chapel, Rivers State council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Port Harcourt, dismissed claims that he is desperate to succeed Governor Rotimi Amaechi, declaring that if indeed he was, he would not have supported the Governor in 2007, helped him to control the opposition and refused to contest in 2011.
“I said it before that Wike should compete, but that there should be a level playing field… But in this case there was no field at all for other aspirants to contest,” he said.
He said he was starting his campaign late without any regret or fear of being overwhelmed by the PDP or the APC, because he has a clear campaign message of creating jobs and opportunities for the people of the state.
“When we are entering is the best time. If all of us entered at the same time, you won’t know where the bombings are coming from… Timing is everything,” he said, and observed that affordable capital for business remains key in pushing small and medium scale businesses to tackle unemployment.
Meanwhile, you will recall that Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state was alleged to have threatened the PDP, denying the party use of the Rivers state stadium for the party presidential rally in the state. But in a recent development, The PDP has threatened to break into the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium for its presidential rally if denied access.
The PDP presidential rally is scheduled to be held on January 28, 2015.
He alleged that the PDP refused to provide a level playing field for all the aspirants who had declared an interest in the governorship election.
He said that he would have stayed with the PDP to realise his governorship ambition had the party not favoured Nyesom Wike, and that he could not remain in the party because he sincerely wanted to address the issue of poverty, which was his main agenda.
PDP governorship candidate, Rivers state, Chief Nyesom Wike
According to Prince Tonye, after buying the governorship form with N11 million, he was asked to pay another N3 million, and another N2 million to correct the mistake of disqualification that the leadership of the party made.
Tonye, speaking at a forum organized by the Federated Correspondents Chapel, Rivers State council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Port Harcourt, dismissed claims that he is desperate to succeed Governor Rotimi Amaechi, declaring that if indeed he was, he would not have supported the Governor in 2007, helped him to control the opposition and refused to contest in 2011.
“I said it before that Wike should compete, but that there should be a level playing field… But in this case there was no field at all for other aspirants to contest,” he said.
He said he was starting his campaign late without any regret or fear of being overwhelmed by the PDP or the APC, because he has a clear campaign message of creating jobs and opportunities for the people of the state.
“When we are entering is the best time. If all of us entered at the same time, you won’t know where the bombings are coming from… Timing is everything,” he said, and observed that affordable capital for business remains key in pushing small and medium scale businesses to tackle unemployment.
Meanwhile, you will recall that Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state was alleged to have threatened the PDP, denying the party use of the Rivers state stadium for the party presidential rally in the state. But in a recent development, The PDP has threatened to break into the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium for its presidential rally if denied access.
The PDP presidential rally is scheduled to be held on January 28, 2015.
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