Disqualified Rivers State governorship aspirant, Prince Tonye Princewill, has blamed former Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, for his ordeal, now weighing four options.

A statement issued yesterday evening in Port Harcourt by his Personal Assistant (Media and Publicity), Wabiye Idoniboye-Obu, said:

“Unconfirmed reports have it that the PDP South - South screening committee has obeyed Wike’s instruction and disqualified Prince Tonye Princewill from contesting for Governor of Rivers state under the platform of PDP.

“The reason they gave is that Prince Tonye is not a member of the PDP. Nyesom Wike’s involvement is glaring as the disqualification came in reaction to a petition submitted by his GDI executive in Asari-Toru LGA.

“This move is not just pathetic but desperate. After Prince Tonye raised hundreds of millions for the party, donated a multi-million Naira media center to the national HQ and participated in all affairs of the party he was invited to; his pay back was straight forward and clear. The Rivers State PDP does not want Tonye Princewill to even contest. If this decision is true, it marks a new low in our state's politics. Will confirm for sure later today, but our sources are pretty reliable.

“After consultations into the early hours with his think tank and a few of his political associates, Prince Tonye Princewill has decided to let the public determine his next move. The reasonable options are to:

“1. Appeal the committee’s decision,

“2. Quit politics altogether,

“3. Stay in the PDP even though they say he is not one of them, or

“4. Go to another party (not APC) and run.

“While he ponders on these four options, Prince Tonye wants to restate that his commitment to the Goodluck Jonathan re-election is still strong whether PDP ticket or not.

“It may interest you to know that in addition to disqualifying Prince Tonye; Nimi Walson Jack, Bekinbo Dagogo Jack and Dumo Lulu Briggs, just to mention a few, were also disqualified for the same reason. The writing is on the wall. This is a sad day for internal democracy. But the voice of the people will always be loudest.”

•Photo shows Prince Tonye Princewill.

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