Politics

Tonto Dikeh vows never to stop competing in elections until she wins

Notable actress turned politician, Tonto Dikeh expresses her determination to continue participating in elections until she achieves victory.

Having previously contested as the deputy governorship candidate for the African Democratic Congress in the 2023 Rivers State elections, Tonto Dikeh acknowledged that her prospects of governing the oil-rich state in the future were uncertain due to the murky nature of politics.

tonto dikeh
Deputy governorship candidate for the African Democratic Congress in the 2023 Rivers State elections, Tonto Dikeh. Credit: tontolet / Instagram.

She made this know during an interview with journalists in Abuja at the GOTNI national leadership conference, which was organized by the National Leadership Centre under the theme of “Leadership for Sustainability.”

In her words, “One of the things I learnt (in contesting the election) is resilience and never giving up. I know after four years, they will forget about me and that, ‘she is not going to come back.’ But I am going to come back. Every four years, I am going to come back. I will come back and I will be in their faces. I will be coming back to the contest.

“My chances (of becoming governor) are high and slim because politics is dirty. It’s not going to be free and fair. (Nyesom) Wike’s candidate didn’t win free and fair. So I don’t expect politics to be free and fair, but I expect that, as someone said, having a lion’s heart requires taking the lion’s share.

“I won’t care what they think about my position, I will keep having the lion’s share, whether it is my personal life or politics, I am here to stay and they have no choice but to accept it.”

She believes that Nigerian youths are in great need of leadership, particularly at a time when they are collectively striving for a better Nigeria and more prosperous life.