A Nigerian politician who was the 2015 Labour Party and 2007 Action Congress candidate for Governor of Rivers State, Tonye Princewill, said President Bola Tinubu was one of his mentors. He added that Tinubu and Atiku took him under their wings when he entered politics. According to him, he didn't support Tinubu's presidential bid on account of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, and he didn't support Peter Obi or Atiku for some reasons. He said that the best thing that happened to Tinubu was the emergence of Peter Obi.
As reported by Vanguard News, Tonye Princewill said, "Tinubu was one of my mentors. He and Atiku took me under their wing when I first entered politics. As a novice back then, he blessed my union with Amaechi to recover Rivers State, and without him, my progress in politics would have been far more limited. But I didn’t support his presidential bid, primarily on account of his Muslim-Muslim ticket; neither did I support Atiku nor Obi, for a variety of reasons. The best thing that happened to Tinubu was the emergence of Peter Obi. All three of them, as individuals, are capable of transforming Nigeria; they have a track record of transformation on their CVs."