LP’s Princewill shuns PDP, APC

The Labour Party (LP) which fielded a prominent Kalabarii prince, Tonye Princewill, as gubernatorial candidate in the controversial April 11, 2015 elections in Rivers State has said it has resolved not to align with either the victorious People’s Democratic Party (PDP) or the aggrieved All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party said what took place was not an election and that “bloodshed is simply too much and the thirst for even more appears palpable”. The party also said going to court was a waste of huge legal fees because even if the court ordered a repeat, more bloodshed would occur and more malpractice would take place.

Princewill, who signed the statement, said his team consulted extensively to arrive at three options: go to court to challenge the just concluded gubernatorial election, align with the PDP and help Wike improve Rivers State, or align with APC and fight this injustice.

He said he also had a choice to “stand alone, don’t go to court, but remain available to help both the state and the country move forward”. According to him, 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 through active engagement in the past few days.

At the end he said: “It is no longer in doubt that the election in Rivers State was neither free and fair, nor credible. Rather than the jubilation of a victory or the recriminations of a defeat, my team and I 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, he said: “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”.

Princewill said neither APC nor PDP were his 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”.