Tonye Princewill

Prince Tonye Princewill (Tonye Princewill) (born 4 January 1969) is a Nigerian investor, politician, film producer and philanthropist who was the 2015 Labour Party and 2007 Action Congress nominee for Governor of Rivers State.

He is currently a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the son of King T.J.T. Princewill of the Kalabari Kingdom of Rivers State, Nigeria.

Prince Tonye Princewill was born in the UK to the family of the present King (Prof) T.J.T. Princewill, the Amanyanabo of Kalabari Kingdom of the Amachree Dynasty of Rivers State.

His father was a Professor of Medical Microbiology before he became a monarch.

Tonye Princewill started his early education in the United Kingdom, before returning with his parents to Nigeria, where he enrolled at Hillcrest High School in Jos from 1976–1980.

The film received international recognition for the unique portrayal of the 1976 coup in Nigeria which aimed at preserving a remarkable part of Nigeria's history for the incoming generation.

The Hollywood Reporter called it "a cut above most Nollywood movies".

The film is set six years after the civil war when a young officer from the Middle Belt develops a romantic relationship and later marries a young student from the South-Eastern region.

However, their relationship is strained by constant military postings.

The soldier is ultimately accused of being involved in the 1976 unsuccessful military coup and assassination of General Murtala Mohammed.

This captivating story is told from two points of view: the young wife and her soldier husband.

He then attended Federal Government College (Port Harcourt) where he obtained his West African Senior Certificate/ General Certificate of Education O'Level in 1985.

In 1990 he attained a BEng in Petroleum engineering at the University of Port Harcourt and later returned to the UK to successfully complete a master's degree in Mineral Resources Engineering at the Imperial College London in 1994.

Princewill's professional career spans over 10 years, where he worked as a Petroleum Engineer in multi-national companies such as Shell and Saipem, later at Sun Microsystems as a Technical Project Manager; Sony, London Stock Exchange and Panasonic as a Technical Consultant and finally Citibank in the Global Asset Management Division on their Technology Desk.

Tonye Princewill's interest in the oil and gas industry saw him working at the prestigious Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) as a Reservoir and Well-site Petroleum Engineer.

He also worked briefly with the UK's Oil and Gas Regulatory Agency, the Department of Trade and Industry.

He has since then established his own private company called Riverdrill Group of Companies (Nigeria) where he currently serves as the Chairman.

Princewill is an avid investor in the Oil and Gas industry, ICT, Environmental Waste Management, Aviation Services, Property Development and Film production.

Tonye Princewill is a film producer.

He produced the film, Kajola, a film that explored the implications of the continuous neglect of the masses, the widening gap between the rich and poor and the ensuing catastrophic outcomes stemming from such neglect.

Tonye Princewill also produced the film, Nnenda, which was geared towards creating awareness for the less-privileged in society.

He produced other films such as Valour, a movie that deals with the Niger Delta and Boko Haram issues

He is one of the executive producers of the highly acclaimed movie '76 (film).

His mother, Ibiere Princewill, an entrepreneur and notably successful in Distribution and Farming, passed away in 2000.

Princewill's political career started when he was nominated as the gubernatorial candidate of the Action Congress for the governorship of Rivers State in 2007.

He was supported by the then former Vice-President of Nigeria and the AC Presidential candidate in 2007 elections, Atiku Abubakar and former Governor of Lagos and National Leader of ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Tonye Princewill's campaign attracted significant grassroots support.

He lost the election under contested circumstances to the People's Democratic Party's (PDP) candidate, Celestine Omehia.

Tonye Princewill launched a legal challenge against the newly elected governor shortly after the election results were released.

He offered evidence to prove to the electoral tribunal that the election was rigged.

In a newspaper interview, he alleged that Celestine Omehia offered him a Naira 1.5 billion (approximately USD 10 million) bribe to withdraw the case before the tribunal, which he rejected.

Following a Supreme Court decision to replace Celestine Omehia with another People's Democratic Party candidate Rotimi Amaechi, he withdrew his case at the tribunal following a local party decision of the Action Congress in Rivers State, a move which drew criticism from some quarters.

Tonye Princewill said in a report that "we took the decision at the time that the enemy of your enemy is your friend," indicating his opponents were Celestine Omehia and his 'godfather', Dr. Peter Odili, the former governor of Rivers State, when Rotimi Amaechi was installed by the court.

He claimed that the decision to withdraw the case was made even easier because the same people who offered to give him 1.5 billion to withdraw his case, came back to offer him 1.5 billion and evidence of how they rigged the election against him to keep his case in court.

This was hoping he would remove Amaechi.

Tonye Princewill later led members of the opposition parties in Rivers State under the banner of the Forum of Organized Opposition Political Parties to form a unity government with Amaechi's administration.

Tonye Princewill's support of the Amaechi's government received mixed reviews.

Some viewed it with scepticism, while others saw it as necessary for the development and stability of Rivers State.

In 2016, Princewill’s production company: Princewill Trust produced the groundbreaking blockbuster, ’76, a post-civil war drama handsomely shot on Super 16mm film.

76 was shot in Ibadan, Oyo State and had its world premiere at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival with a later screening at the London Film Festival, amongst several other festivals around the world