Newly-appointed National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has extended an open invitation to opposition figures, including Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to return to the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Naijaonpoint reports that Yilwatda made the remark during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday, shortly after his emergence as the new APC national helmsman at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Abuja.

When asked directly about rumours suggesting Kwankwaso, a former Kano State governor and chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), may be eyeing a return to the APC, Yilwatda responded affirmatively, stating that the party welcomes all willing returnees.

“Our doors are open. When everybody’s time is due, it will manifest itself, and that is also for everybody who has come back to the APC,” Yilwatda said.

Kwankwaso, the founder of the Kwankwasiya movement and a key player in the 2023 presidential race, has been at the centre of speculation over potential defections as political realignments begin in anticipation of the next electoral cycle.

Naijaonpoint had earlier reported that Yilwatda was nominated and confirmed as APC chairman following the resignation of Abdullahi Ganduje, who stepped down from the position due to health reasons.

In his acceptance speech, the new chairman pledged to prioritise internal unity within the party and foster reconciliation across all levels of APC structures.

Yilwatda, a former governorship candidate in Plateau State, is also a professor of engineering and served previously as a Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue State.