YNAIJA ENDORSEMENT: We endorse Tonye Princewill for Rivers governor

Given the recent defection of no less a personality than the deputy to the outgoing governor of Rivers state, many may wonder why we are bothering with this particular state.

No one was surprised when Nyesom Wike got the governorship ticket of the PDP in the state, and this despite a lot of protest from other contenders during the primaries. Wike’s interest in the governorship has been an open secret for the better part of a decade, and it was this ambition that ultimately tore him and Rotimi Amaechi apart.

Amaechi, of the APC, has designated Peterside Dakuku as his successor, and has thrown a lot of resources in supporting Dakuku’s bid. Peterside Dakuku, had served as Rotimi Amaechi’s Commissioner for Works in a period that saw a lot of projects take off, and come to conclusion. He also served in the House of Representatives and has a lengthy resume.

What Amaechi is hoping, is that Dakuku’s emergence will play the ethnic card within the state, as Dakuku’s Ogoni people have never had a shot at the governorship.

Another candidate of note in Rivers is Tonye Princewill, of the Labour Party. Princewill, and engineer, has worked in a variety of jobs, including as a Reservoir Engineer in Shell, and within the British government, as well as heading the Technology Department at Panasonic, and in Citibank.

Princewill has previously run for this office, when in 2007 he ran against Celestine Omehia, Amaechi’s predecessor, and lost in contentious circumstances. He went to the courts, and lost in controversial circumstances when the Supreme Court decided to replace Omehia with Amaechi. For this particular run at the office of governor, he was first in the PDP, but was forced to move parties when Nyesom Wike moved in and took the PDP’s ticket. If elected, Princewill would bring a wealth of experience, and international trust in his competence, into the office of governor.

Wike though, remains a formidable opponent and the frontrunner, having the backing of the wife of President Goodluck Jonathan. He also has the backing, and loyalty, of a lot of the local government chairmen in the state, having been their leader during his stint as the chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, the richest LGA in the state.

Wike was also the Minister of State for Education, between July 2011, and when he resigned to run for the governorship of Rivers. For almost a year, he was charged with running Nigeria’s education system.

The reality is this: while it is clear that a lot can be said about Wike’s ability as an enforcer and a political organiser, his ability as an administrator simply does not exist. Under his watch in charge of the Federal Ministry of Education, university students spent half a year at home, polytechnic students spent an even longer time.

The issues he left behind are still unresolved, and the unions in higher institutions have given notice of another strike. No, Wike is not a good administrator.

Peterside on the other hand, has worked in and out of government for a long time, and has seen its successes, and its failures. His time in the House of Representatives was a little underwhelming it must be said.

Finally, Princewill, has never been in government. However, he has done tremendous work in the private sector, and has also done a lot of philanthropic work, including giving scholarships to the very people who need it.

It is time for Rivers State to chart a new course, and make a clean break from a past that has a lot of infighting and violence. Rivers, is potentially Nigeria’s richest state and needs a man at the helm who understands just how international finance and project planning works.

It is on the strength of this, that we endorse the candidacy of Tonye Princewill.

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