• Move to strip Shettima of VP begins
• Ganduje thanks Tinubu for Yiltwada’s appointment, pledges support
• Atiku to Tinubu: Fix your troubled government, don’t meddle in opposition affairs
President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, charged governors elected on the platform of the party to redouble their commitment to development, especially security, and grassroots mobilisation, even as he stressed the imperative of leaving behind a legacy of progressive governance.
Tinubu, in his remarks after the appointment of the new All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, said their performance would be strategic to the success of the ruling party.
While announcing plans to establish a befitting national secretariat for APC in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the President declared: “We should leave a legacy of development. Twenty-three governors are here to help identify land with the FCT Minister. We should form a committee of progressive governors to secure a suitable location for the new secretariat. I believe, without hesitation, the motion is carried.”
The President, who received a renewed vote of confidence from party leaders at the meeting, reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to economic reforms, stating that Nigeria’s financial trajectory was already beginning to stabilise.
“It’s not easy to navigate stormy economic waters. But now that the economy is stabilising, there is no other direction for this country except upward. I can assure you of that.
“We must remain vigilant and continue expanding investment in security infrastructure and personnel. That is the only path to lasting peace…Thousands of terrorists and bandits have been neutralised, but ward against complacency,” he stated, noting that significant progress has been made in tackling terrorism and banditry.
The President also emphasised his administration’s drive towards food sovereignty, just as he urged governors to key into ongoing initiatives aimed at boosting local food production and reducing import dependence.
“We are working hard to ensure food sovereignty. Those working with me will continue to push this agenda. We must engage all stakeholders to meet our national objectives,” he added.
In a symbolic show of unity, Tinubu welcomed Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta, both of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — whose presence he described as a gesture of national solidarity.
While stressing that the doors into the APC remain wide open, the President congratulated Senator Monday Okpebholo, both for his triumph at the Supreme Court and the recent commissioning of the “Edo Line” transport initiative.
On the persisting complaints from citizens, Tinubu charged APC governors to intensify grassroots engagement and lead efforts to deliver tangible change.
He said: “Nigerians are still complaining at the grassroots. You must wet the grass more. Lead the charge in delivering progressive change. We need more zonal-level engagements to boost mobilisation and unity. May God bless our democracy and give us more fertile lands.”
New APC Chairman…
IT had all the ingredients of grand political artistry. From the caucus meeting through the Progressive Governors Forum’s (PGF) consultation to the National Executive Council meeting, which was held yesterday at the Presidential Villa, the script was clear: rezone the office of the national chairman and consider Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda as substantive occupant.
Governors elected on the platform of the APC under the aegis of Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) set the ball rolling in the execution of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s master plan to recalibrate the structure of the party.
As the change of baton for the No 40 Blantyre Street, Wuse 2, also known as Buhari House, was taking place at the Villa, some informed party stalwarts who could pronounce the name of the new national chairman with ease, decoded the presidential body language signalling the quiet move to throw up a new running mate for President Tinubu, who had already been adopted as the unopposed presidential standard bearer of the party for the 2027 general elections.
The APC NEC’s ratification of the nomination of the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Professor Yilwatda, as the party’s new National Chairman, followed his unanimous approval by APC governors, state chairmen, and other key stakeholders during a crucial meeting held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
Close Presidency sources confided in The Guardian that Tinubu had earlier agreed with the summations of a small technical group, which recommended that there was a need to ensure inclusivity in religion, zone and demography, if the party was serious about winning the 2027 poll.
As part of the strategy, The Guardian gathered, Yilwatda, a 56-year-old Christian, became the President’s pick against Senator Sani Musa, who had been at the forefront of the agitation for the return of the chairmanship to the North Central geopolitical zone.
The source disclosed that, further to the plan to recalibrate the leadership organogram of the Tinubu-led administration, a new running mate would be chosen from Kano State, even as the offices of the Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Deputy President of the Senate would be redistributed among North-West and North-East respectively.
“In the going reformation, young people and women would be given their pride of place in the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President. From the party hierarchy, the next port of call is the cabinet, and it would cascade to the states,” the source stated.
Setting the stage for the process, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, applauded President Tinubu’s transformative leadership and called for internal reforms to reposition the APC.
He said: “Under your administration, we have made irreversible progress in the economy, security architecture, recalibration of the oil subsystem for long-term national benefit, unification of the foreign exchange system, and governance reforms that have revived investor confidence.”
Uzodimma paid tribute to outgoing National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for his service to the party and country, and called for a swift nomination of a unifying successor.
After that, he made a motion, urging NEC to: “Return the office of APC National Chairman to the North Central zone from the North-East.
“Nominate and elect Professor Nentawe Yilwatda from Plateau State (North Central) as National Chairman.
“Reassign Professor AbdulKarim Kana, current National Legal Adviser from Nasarawa State (North Central), as Deputy National Secretary.
“Nominate Barrister Murtala from Katsina State (North West) as the new National Legal Adviser.
“Uzodimma also moved that the tenure of ward and local government executives be extended until December 31, 2025, to ensure continuity amidst ongoing political activities.
After his motion was seconded by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and received wide support from the NEC, the PGF chairman commended the party’s ongoing digital membership registration, led by National Secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru, calling it a “timely innovation” that would expand inclusion and strengthen internal democracy.
“The future of APC is bright. The leadership of President Tinubu continues to inspire renewed confidence in governance. Let us stay united and focused on delivering progress for every Nigerian,” he opined.
Shortly after the ratification, Yilwatda took the oath of office administered by Oghenovo Otemu, a legal practitioner.
Earlier, shortly after the ratification of his nomination by consensus, the new APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, pledged to lead the party with inclusiveness, unity, and a strong sense of responsibility.
In his acceptance speech, Yilwatda expressed gratitude to President Tinubu, APC governors, the National Assembly caucus, and other stakeholders for their confidence in him.
“Let me express my profound gratitude to God and to the leadership of the party, from the President to the governors, National Assembly members and NEC, for entrusting me with this great responsibility,” he said.
The former Minister described his emergence as humbling, even as he likened the APC to a vehicle, and party members as its mechanics, remarking, “Together, we will fix it and drive it to our desired destination.”
While pledging to build an inclusive leadership anchored on cooperation, trust, and collective ownership of the party’s goals, Yilwatda declared: “I will work with everyone in the party, unite, build and expand the APC. You are the focus, the building blocks, and the support I need to move this vehicle forward.”
The chairman swore to take tough decisions and bring in more PDP governors into the APC.
Appearing on the Channels television programme, Politics Today, hours after he emerged as APC chair in Abuja, Yilwaltda disclosed his plans to invest in legwork to bring more governors from the main opposition PDP and others, to APC, assuring that the APC, under Tinubu’s leadership, will deliver on the mandate entrusted to it by millions of Nigerians.
As the new alignment sets in, the immediate past National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, has hailed President Tinubu’s appointment of Yilwatda as the new chairman of the party. Ganduje, in a statement on Thursday night, described the emergence of Yilwatda as strategic, noting that it comes at a critical period in the life of the party.
The former Kano governor also expressed profound confidence in the capacity, intellect, maturity and administrative competence of the new chairman to move the party forward. He tasked the new chairman to build on the solid foundations and legacies he (Ganduje) laid during his tenure, just as he had built on the efforts and achievements of his own predecessor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu.
He expressed deep appreciation to President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for their statesmanlike roles and wisdom in guiding the party through the transition process that culminated in Yilwatda’s emergence.
Meanwhile, the North Central geopolitical zone of the party has commended President Tinubu and the national leadership of APC for “ensuring that justice prevailed at last in the resolution of the leadership question in the APC.”
“This has, once again, proved beyond any doubt that President Bola Tinubu is a listening President. He has once again demonstrated uncommon political will and judgment, which he has applied in initiating and driving key reforms and programmes that are evidently turning Nigeria on the right course,” the zone said in a statement.
Meet the new APC chairman
Yilwatda, a professor of Artificial Intelligence and former Resident Electoral Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), previously served as the APC governorship candidate in Plateau State during the 2023 general elections.
Though unsuccessful in that bid, he remained a prominent voice within the party, particularly in northern political circles. His appointment as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs in 2024 was widely viewed as a nod to his grassroots appeal and technocratic competence.
The Plateau State-born politician is renowned for his advocacy of digital innovation in governance and social protection. He is expected to bring a reform-driven approach to the APC leadership as the party navigates ongoing internal restructuring and prepares for future electoral contests.
Party insiders say his emergence is also part of a broader strategy to strengthen the APC’s national outlook and reconcile aggrieved factions ahead of its next convention.
Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia, while congratulating the new APC boss, said that he has no doubt in the ability of the scholar and politician to succeed in taking the party to more enviable heights.
The Governor cited the new chairman’s “intellect, brilliance, expertise, integrity and his unwavering commitment to excellence”, as some of the qualities that would attract more support and love for the ruling party across the country.
In a statement, Thursday, in Makurdi, by his Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, Alia described the new chairman of the APC “as a distinguished academic and a visionary leader.”
Professor Nentawe served as the Benue State Electoral Commissioner in 2019 and the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 general elections in Plateau State.
Also, the North-Central chapter of APC hailed Yilwatda’s emergence as APC National Chairman, rejoicing that the development came as the successful outcome of its over two years’ agitation for the return of the position to the region.
In a statement, signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central APC Forum celebrated the successful outcome of its agitation for the return of the position of National Chairman to the region.
“This is a major milestone for stakeholders of the North-Central under the umbrella of the North-Central APC Forum. For more than two years we agitated that the position of National Chairman should return to the North-Central, in line with the current zoning arrangement.
“Our agitation was informed by the need for fairness and equity and in the course of this struggle we have gone to court, we led protests and issued open letters and several statements. We fought with doggedness, but we respected the leaders of the party, even when decisions did not go our way on certain occasions.
“We are indeed glad that at last, justice has been done, our cries have been heard and the North-Central has been given what should rightfully come to the zone. We thank President Bola Tinubu for listening to our call for the return of the position of the National Chairman to the North-Central region.
“We also thank other leaders and stakeholders of the party, particularly members of the NEC, for this decision. The North-Central is truly grateful, and we can guarantee that this decision will galvanize the region to offer even more for the progress of the party.
“We believe that justice and fairness have at last prevailed in the resolution of the question over the leadership of the APC, which had been a rather painful open wound for stakeholders from the North-Central who had to bear the agony of being denied the position of National Chairman, which was rightfully zoned to the region. The decision taken by the NEC today shows that the contributions of the North-Central to the progress of the APC cannot be denied, and are indeed appreciated,” parts of the statement said.
Basking in its regained leadership position, the zone restated its pledge to deliver six million votes for Tinubu in the region come 2027, noting that the task would now be made easier with the restoration of its rightful position, in line with the party’s subsisting zoning arrangement.
