The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared that political appointments after the 2027 general elections will be reserved strictly for party loyalists, insisting that governance is inherently political.
Speaking on Tuesday night in Abuja at an event tagged Renewed Hope Promise Kept 2027: Meet and Greet North-West Mobilisation, organised by the Minister of State for Works, Bello Goronyo, Yilwatda said appointees must actively participate in party activities.
In a video of the event that went viral on Wednesday, the APC chairman stressed that political appointments cannot be divorced from politics.
He said, “We should always look back and remind ourselves of what brought us here. It is votes. There is no vote called technocrats. Once you are given a political appointment, you are a politician. Simple.
“As party chairman, I will stand strong to defend the position that if you are not prepared to join us, you shouldn’t be given an appointment. If you are a technocrat, go and be a consultant.”
Yilwatda said government policies are campaign promises that must be defended and promoted by those implementing them, warning that detachment from grassroots mobilisation could weaken the party.
“Government policies are campaign promises that must be defended, explained, and promoted by those implementing them. Appointees cannot divorce themselves from party objectives,” he said.
He cautioned that relying on technocrats who are not politically active could cost the party power, adding, “Once you are given a political appointment, you are a politician. If all appointees decide to become technocrats, the party will never return to power.”
Describing the North-West as the “bedrock” of the APC’s electoral success, the chairman said the region would remain decisive in 2027, accounting for about 20 per cent of the party’s membership nationwide.
“Out of the registered members in the North-West, 48 per cent are between the ages of 18 and 35. This means young people own this party,” he said, noting that members aged 50 and above make up just 17 per cent of the party’s base in the region.
Also speaking at the event, the Special Adviser on Policy Coordination and Head of the Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit, Hadiza Bala-Usman, said the North-West delivered the highest number of votes for the APC in 2023 and must remain united ahead of 2027.
“We are a vote basket and we must retain that. Nobody should work hard to win elections while others stroll in to collect appointments and hide behind being technocrats,” she said.
Bala-Usman warned that political appointees who fail to mobilise for the party would not be tolerated.
“Once you are a political appointee, you must come out, show your face, show your hand, and support the party,” she added.