The newly elected National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof Nentawe Yiwaltda, says his job is to unite the ruling APC and “do the legwork” to bring members of the opposition also to join the party.
Yiwaltda, who until his appointment earlier on Thursday was Minister of Humanitarian Service and Poverty Reduction, was appointed following his nomination by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, seconded by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, aired on Thursday evening’s edition of Politics Today, the APC chairman said, despite having 23 governors and 70 members of the National Assembly in the party, he hoped to bring in more.
“My job is to unite the party. To expand the party. We have 23 governors, and we are still counting. Our job is to bring more. We’ll do the legwork, we’ll bring them in,” he said.
The chairman also noted that he had the backing and experience of founding members of the party, former national chairmen, and former governors, who will ensure his success as leader of the party.
“Fortunately for me, I have a lot of experienced national party chairmen who are all here. Is it the former Governor of Edo State? My immediate predecessor, the former chairman, that’s His Excellency, Abdullahi (Ganduje). They’re all in. I have experienced former governors, former vice presidents, in short, the starting 11 of the party are still intact,” Yilwatda stated.
Asked whether he would be able to make thoughtful decisions for the party, the former minister said, “Of course, I will, because that is what the President asked me to do, and the members are asking me to do also.”
“Look at the body language of Mr President; soft-talking, calm, gentle, but look at where he is driving the country, taking tough decisions, where people fear to even discuss,” he added.
The new APC Chairman also dismissed the newly formed coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027, stating that he had “zero fears” about the chances of the coalition.
Yilwatda pointed out that the party had won over many members of the opposition and won recent bye-elections at the local government level and in the Senate, adding that he was confident of the party’s win in 2027.
“There is no opposition for now. Zero fears. I shouldn’t be sharing our strategies with the opposition, but we will win. I can assure you.
“Let me just ask you a question; why is it that all the by-elections in the last two years were all won by the APC and landslide victories, in most cases? Even the by-election for Senators, House of Reps, APC is doing well.
“It’s normal to have opposition and we welcome them. In short, I was watching a clip of their criticism and I’m marking all of them. Some of them will help me to improve on performance of the party. Good enough, we like their criticism, they are helping us to improve on performance. They’re helping us map our strategies better,” he stated.
Addressing rumours of the possible return of former Kano State governor and presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party in the 2023 general election, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Yilwatda stated, “our doors are open,” adding that former members of the party will return to the party with time.
“When everybody’s time is due, it will manifest itself. Just give people more time and you will see, people, on their own, will begin to see the manifesto of the party, the performance of the government, and the tough decisions the president has taken,” he said.
Credit: punchng.com
