The newly appointed National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared his readiness to not only unite members of the ruling party but also reach across party lines to woo members of the opposition into the APC fold.
Yilwatda, who made this known during a live appearance on Politics Today on Channels Television Thursday evening, said his priority is to strengthen the base of the party and ensure its victory in the 2027 general elections.
“My job is to unite the party. To expand the party. We have 23 governors, and we are still counting. Our job is to bring more. We’ll do the legwork, we’ll bring them in,” he said.
Yilwatda, who until his appointment was the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, emerged as National Chairman following his nomination by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, which was seconded by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
The new chairman expressed confidence in the backing of APC stakeholders and founding members, noting that the party’s leadership structure remains solid and experienced.
“Fortunately for me, I have a lot of experienced national party chairmen who are all here. Is it the former Governor of Edo State? My immediate predecessor, the former chairman, that’s His Excellency, Abdullahi (Ganduje)? They’re all in. I have experienced former governors, former vice presidents. In short, the starting 11 of the party are still intact,” he said.
When asked if he had the courage to take bold decisions in leading the party, Yilwatda replied, “Of course, I will, because that is what the President asked me to do, and the members are asking me to do also.”
He continued, “Look at the body language of Mr President; soft-talking, calm, gentle, but look at where he is driving the country, taking tough decisions where people fear to even discuss.”
Yilwatda also shrugged off the recent emergence of a coalition formed to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027, describing the alliance as no threat to the ruling party.
“There is no opposition for now. Zero fears. I shouldn’t be sharing our strategies with the opposition, but we will win. I can assure you.
“Let me just ask you a question; why is it that all the by-elections in the last two years were all won by the APC and landslide victories, in most cases? Even the by-election for Senators, House of Reps, APC is doing well,” he added.
He stated further that criticism from opposition parties helps the APC perform better. “It’s normal to have opposition and we welcome them. In short, I was watching a clip of their criticism and I’m marking all of them.
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“Some of them will help me to improve on performance of the party. Good enough, we like their criticism, they are helping us to improve on performance. They’re helping us map our strategies better,” he said.
On speculations regarding the return of former Kano State governor and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the APC chairman said the party was open to receiving old members back.
“Our doors are open,” Yilwatda declared, adding, “When everybody’s time is due, it will manifest itself. Just give people more time and you will see, people on their own, will begin to see the manifesto of the party, the performance of the government, and the tough decisions the president has taken.”
