The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reportedly settled for Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, as the new national chairman.
According to Premium Times, Yilwatda emerged as the consensus nominee after a late-night meeting between President Bola Tinubu and APC governors.
The decision is expected to be ratified at the National Executive Committee (NEC) scheduled for today, July 24, 2025.
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.
The push for a new chairman follows Ganduje’s resignation, which came amid internal protests, particularly from North Central stakeholders, who felt short-changed after the abrupt exit of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, following the 2023 general election that produced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Party insiders confirmed that zoning the chairmanship back to the North Central and giving priority to a Christian is a strategic move to placate aggrieved stakeholders and address concerns, especially under the Muslim-Muslim presidency of Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
If confirmed, Yeltwatda will replace acting chairman Ali Bukar Dalori, who previously served as deputy national chairman before stepping in after Ganduje’s departure.
Some insiders told Daily Trust that Dalori could have remained in an acting capacity for a longer period “but for some obvious reasons.”
“He is from Borno State, the same state as Vice President Shettima,” one source said. “And beyond that, there is no time to keep playing to the gallery. The president and the APC want to resolve the chairmanship issue once and for all. Tinubu wants someone who will be as loyal to him as Senator Adamu was to President Buhari.”
About The Author
