The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, has been named the new National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
His selection and subsequent election by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) took place during a meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
He succeeded and took over the leadership of the party from Abdullahi Ganduje, who resigned from the chairmanship in June, citing personal reasons.
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Yilwatda’s nomination was put forth by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who chairs the Progressive Governors’ Forum, and was seconded by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen.
Members of the NEC then approved the motion through a voice vote.
Yilwatda’s ascent to this pivotal role comes as the APC seeks to solidify its influence at the federal level and expand its control within various states, especially those where governors from opposition parties have recently joined the ruling party.
The 56-year-old, who hails from Plateau State, was appointed to his ministerial position by President Bola Tinubu late last year.
He was among seven individuals nominated on October 23, 2023, and sworn into office on November 4 of the same year.
The New Daily Prime reported that following Ganduje’s departure, Ali Dalori, the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North) was designated to manage the party’s affairs.
Ganduje himself had assumed the APC leadership in August 2023, succeeding Abdullahi Adamu, another former governor who also resigned from the position.
Prior to his chairmanship, Ganduje served as governor of Kano State (a North-West state) from 2015 to 2023.
In January of this year, Tinubu also appointed Ganduje as the Board Chairman of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Yilwatda
Yilwatda is an engineer and academic who emerged as the APC flagbearer in the 2023 gubernatorial election in Plateau State but lost to Caleb Mutfwang of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He challenged the victory of the PDP but after the Supreme Court upheld Mutfwang’s win, he accepted the verdict.
Between July 2017 and December 2021, he served as the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue State.
Prior to that, he held the position of Director of ICT at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, where he worked for 12 years.
During the 2023 general elections, Yilwatda was appointed as the coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation in Plateau State.
He maintains a close political alliance with former Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong.
Following Lalong’s election as senator representing Plateau South Senatorial District, the state’s ministerial slot became vacant.
In response, several party chieftains and political groups rallied behind Yilwatda, urging his nomination as Lalong’s replacement.
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Tinubu subsequently nominated him for a ministerial role.
After undergoing screening by the National Assembly, he was sworn in as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs on 24th October 2024.
