2023 offers Nigeria opportunity to redefine its future, says ex-APC chieftain

Prince Tonye Princewill, a two-time governorship candidate in Rivers State, and a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who recently left the party due to the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, has said that 2023 is going to be the last opportunity for Nigeria to redefine its future.

Princewill stated this in a recent interview with select journalists in Port Harcourt, saying that Nigeria is a big ship that is slowly drifting.
 
He pointed out that what the country needs is a team of good people, led by a man of strong conviction and character, who sees Nigeria as one entity, but is loyal to no particular section.

He said: “It will take a lot of smart people ready to do the hard work for us to see a Nigeria that we can be proud of in our lifetime.      

“I see a lot of that in the top three presidential candidates. They all support restructuring; each of them has special interests, and they are all fighters.                  

“Give them credit. No need for abuse. What l have not seen is the team behind each of them. Hopefully, the campaign will reveal all of these. We will need the same test to apply to states and other constituencies. Our focus should be on candidates and not parties. Our focus should be on what they have done, and not strictly on what they say in campaigns, even though what they say matters.”

On the fact that Peter Obi’s movement seems to have changed the voting demographics ahead of the 2023 elections, Princewill cautioned that it is too early to make predictions.

“If we look at things the way they are at the moment, l see the likelihood of a run-off. But it is too early, and a lot will happen in five months,” he said.                    

Princewill further noted he doesn’t want to see a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the Villa, noting that if the potential in an Obi or Atiku Abubakar is not fully utilised, that will lead us to a Tinubu as president.

“Those PDP strongholds in the South-South and the South East and Middle Belt, which are ordinarily Atiku’s bases, will now be split between Atiku and Obi.  That means you would underestimate Tinubu at your peril,” he added.