Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, current Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and a former university don, has emerged a consensus nominee to lead the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as new national chairman.
Recall that the erstwhile Chairman, and former Governor of Kano state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje,who led the APC from 2023, resigned from his position citing health reasons, as stated in his resignation letter.
However, he was later seen taking up duties as the Chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), which led some to question the reasons he gave for stepping down, while others suspect it was part of moves to bring his political rival and former Kano State Governor, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, into the APC
Meanwhile, discussions have continued regarding the health of Ganduje, following reports claiming he is in critical condition at a hospital in London.
Yilwatda comes to the APC with a blend of academic, bureaucratic, and political experience.
His emergence followed a late-night meeting in Abuja between President Bola Tinubu and governors elected on the platform of the APC, sources familiar with the development said.
The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is expected to ratify his appointment at a meeting scheduled for later today.
Mr Yilwatda, 56, hails from Plateau State and was the APC’s gubernatorial candidate in the state during the 2023 general elections. His nomination aligns with the party’s zoning arrangement, which allocated the national chairmanship to the North-Central geopolitical zone comprising Benue, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and Plateau states.
Multiple party insiders said his Christian faith also worked in his favour. With both the President and Vice President being Muslims, APC leaders reportedly reasoned that appointing a Christian chairman would help the party project inclusivity and appeal more broadly to voters of other faiths.
Before venturing into politics, he was an engineering lecturer at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi. He also served as a Resident Electoral Commissioner for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) between 2017 and 2021, overseeing elections in Benue, Anambra, Osun, Rivers, and Cross River states.
In December 2021, he resigned abruptly from INEC and returned to Plateau State, where he joined the APC and quickly rose to become its governorship candidate. Although he lost the election to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), President Tinubu later named him Minister of Humanitarian Affairs.
His selection as APC chairman signals an apparent shift in strategy for the ruling party, which has in recent years faced growing criticism over internal divisions, declining popularity in some regions, and leadership instability.
Party leaders hope that under Mr Yilwatda’s leadership, the APC can rejuvenate its image and consolidate power ahead of future electoral contests.
