After a marathon meeting of the expanded Princewill campaign team, where we sat to analyze the just concluded 2015 general elections, the organisation critically looked at four possible options before our team
The options were:
1. Go to court to challenge the just concluded gubernatorial election,
2. Align with the PDP and help Wike improve Rivers State,
3. Align with APC and fight this injustice,
or
4. Stand alone, don’t go to court, but remain available to help both the state and the country move forward.
The house took into deep consideration, the realities on the ground, the welfare of Rivers people and most importantly, the opinions of the general public, who we had engaged via various media & fora over the past few days.
Our decision is outlined below.
Decision
It is no longer in doubt that the election in Rivers state was neither free nor fair nor credible. Rather than the jubilation of a victory or the recriminations of a defeat, I and my team prefer to keep searching for peace. The bloodshed is simply too much and the thirst for even more appears palpable. Who will be left for us to lead? How much more of this can we take?
After careful consideration therefore, I and my political associates have decided, not to align with either of the other two political parties but to stand with Rivers people for the sake of peace and long term prosperity. We see the two of them as birds of the same feather, fruits of the same tree and two sides of the same coin so rather than add fuel to their fire, we opt to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
We are also not inclined to go down the road of a huge legal expense to pursue "justice" in court since a repeat election, if it were to come, may only reproduce an even bloodier outcome which will also be the subject of litigation. In spite of the flaws in the election, the Independent National Electoral Commission still went on to announce a winner. As law abiding citizens, we can not stop him but we promise him, we will always be here to remind him, Rivers state must always come first.
Neither APC nor PDP are my enemies. They were just my opponents in a game of politics. For what wrongs I or my team have committed, we ask for forgiveness, while for those who have wronged against us, we forgive you too. It is time to put the past behind us. From today, I and my team pledge to do whatever is in the people's interest to help Rivers state and Nigeria move forward. This is simply paramount. That is what is important. We came to contest elections, not to fight a war. We came to serve.
Rivers people have been through hell, with no jobs. We all can do a lot better. But first we must have peace. Let our internal divisions and our party politics not deny our children the bright future we all need. Thank you.
God bless you,
God bless Rivers state,
God bless Nigeria.
Signed
Prince Tonye T.J.T Princewill
Tags
Politics