Rivers Guber 2015: PDP Disqualifies Tonye Princewill, Others from Contesting, Says They Are not Party Members

There are indications that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), screening committee for the South-South has disqualified the some frontline governorship aspirants from contesting the primary election of the party on the premise that they are not members of PDP.

The indication was made known by one of the top aspirants for the Rivers Governorship, Prince Tonye Princewill, who claimed that the screening committee ha screened him and some other aspirants out in line with the instructions of the former Minister of state, Education, Nyesom Wike.

Apart from Mr. Princewill, others said to have been screened out by the committee include Nimi Walson Jack, Bekinbo Dagogo Jack, and Dumo Lulu Briggs.

The development may not be unconnected with the animosity created with the conduct of the November 1 ward congresses of the party, where 16 out of the 17 governorship aspirants in the state accused the national leadership of the party as well as that of the state of doing the bidding of the former minister of state for education, Nyesom Wike.

The message by Mr. Princewill alleging his disqualification reads “Unconfirmed reports have it that the South South screening committee has obeyed Wike’s instruction and disqualified me from contesting for Governor of Rivers State under the platform of PDP.

“Reason? I am not a PDP member. If this decision is true, this marks a new low in our state’s politics. Will confirm for sure later today, but our sources are pretty reliable. My options now are to appeal, quit politics altogether, stay in the PDP or go to another party (not APC) and run for Governor. While I ponder these options, your opinions are not only welcome, they are essential. If you decide that I should not run, all previous contributions for funds will be returned in full. You can count on that.

“In addition to disqualifying me, Nimi Walson Jack, Bekinbo Dagogo Jack and Dumo Lulu Briggs were also disqualified, just to mention a few. The writing is on the wall. A sad day for internal democracy. What are they afraid of? Is PDP in Rivers state not working for APC?” Princewill said.

Corroborating Princewill’s position in a telephone conversation with DailyPost, a source close to his campaign team said the disqualification of Princewill alongside some of the major contenders is real.

He said: “Yes, from all indications, Prince Tonye Princewill and some other major contenders against Wike were all disqualified. These are formidable aspirants that were disqualified on some kind of frivolous and ridiculous reasons, that they are not party members.

“I wonder how somebody who has been participating in the party’s activities and donating money to the party can be called a non-member. In 2011, he was the single highest donor to the party; he donated over N500,000,000 {five hundred million} to the party. In 2012, he built a media centre for the party. How can you now say such a person is not a member of that same party?” the source asked.

Speaking on the next line of action, the source said the aspirant is still consulting and that they will have to explore all necessary options open to them, including appealing.

“He is still consulting because we want to explore all options including appealing. What is happening in Rivers State PDP is something that portends great danger for the party. I wonder what Wike is afraid of because he is certainly behind this”.

On the possibility of Princewill defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC, the source said the opposition party is not an option for Princewill because he is deeply committed to the re-election cause of President Goodluck Jonathan. He said he is still consulting and reaching out to party leaders.

Speaking to DailyPost, Princewill said; “it is a ridiculous development, but we have options available to us. We are asking our followers, friends and family to let us know what they think should be done.

Asked how he feels by the disqualification, Princewill said “If I say I don’t feel cheated, I will be lying”.

Written by Abubakar Usman with additional reporting from Daily Post

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