THE Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has been elected as the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
His emergence was formally announced yesterday during the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the APC at the State House, Abuja.
Yilwatda, who was adopted as a “consensus decision” by the NEC, succeeds Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje who officially stepped down as chairman of the part on June 27, citing health challenge. The meeting had in attendance President Bola Tinubu, members of the Progressives Governors Forum and top party officials
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 told our correspondent on condition of anonymity.
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.
Sources said his Christian faithmay have 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.
“He is young, suave, well-educated, and doesn’t carry the usual political baggage, We believe he can give the party a new face and restore credibility ahead of future elections,” said senior party official
Professor Yilwatda comes with a blend of academic, bureaucratic, and political experience. 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.
