Tinubu, First Lady Endorse Minister Nentawe Yilwatda for APC Chairmanship in Strategic Party Realignment

Amid strategic moves within the All Progressives Congress (APC), multiple high-level sources have revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Senator Remi Tinubu are throwing their weight behind Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, as the leading candidate for the party’s next national chairman.

According to insider reports, Yilwatda has emerged as the frontrunner ahead of the APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, where a decision on the next party helmsman is expected.

Despite competition from notable figures like former Nasarawa Governor and serving senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, momentum is said to be strongly in Yilwatda’s favour with visible signs of support from the Presidency, party governors, and the National Working Committee (NWC).

Yilwatda’s candidacy is seen as a strategic play to restore the party’s leadership to Nigeria’s North Central region, following the exit of former chairman Abdullahi Adamu and the brief tenure of Kano’s Abdullahi Ganduje, who recently resigned. As a Christian from Plateau State, Yilwatda also represents a balancing force in the face of criticism over the APC’s Muslim-Muslim presidency.

Party stakeholders believe that choosing Yilwatda could help calm rising discontent and restore internal unity ahead of the 2027 general elections. “There’s already quiet celebration in parts of Plateau,” a party insider said. “He’s a symbol of hope and inclusion.”

Although Acting Chairman Ali Bukar Dalori briefly stepped into the vacuum left by Ganduje, sources claim his perceived closeness to Vice President Kashim Shettima and regional overlaps limited his prospects. “Tinubu wants a loyalist, someone who’ll protect his legacy the way Adamu did for Buhari,” a senior APC official disclosed.

Reports suggest that First Lady Remi Tinubu’s endorsement of Yilwatda has further tipped the scale, signalling the presidency’s clear preference.