Barring any last minute change in plans, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Prof Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda is set to emerge as the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress on Thursday, THE WHISTLER can authoritatively report.
Yilwatda is expected to be named as the party chairman at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled to be held in Abuja on Thursday.
Expected to top the agenda of the meeting is the matter of the party’s leadership, particularly the emergence of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s substantive successor.
THE WHISTLER had reported that Ganduje resigned as national chairman on June 27, paving the way for the deputy national chairman (North), Ali Bukar Dalori, to assume office in an acting capacity.
Findings by THE WHISTLER further revealed that the meeting is expected to deliberate on key issues threatening cohesion within the party.
Born on 8 August 1968, Yilwatda, a politician from Plateau State, is an engineer and academic who currently serves as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development.
He was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in October 2024 and was the flagrunner for his party in the 2023 gubernatorial elections in Plateau state.
Between July 2017 and December 2021, he held the position of resident electoral commissioner in Benue state.
Also, he was the ICT director at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, for 12 years.
He was selected as the coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organization in Plateau state during the 2023 General Elections.
Yilwatda and the ex-governor of Plateau state, Simon Lalong, maintained a solid relationship.
After Plateau state ministerial slot became vacant following Lalong’s emergence as the senator representing Plateau South senatorial district, party chieftains and political groups canvassed for
Yilwatda is to be nominated to replace Lalong.
He challenged the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) in Plateau state 2023 gubernatorial elections at the court.
After the apex court ruled in favour of the People’s Democratic Party, Yilwatda accepted the judgement.
The North-Central All Progressives Congress (NC APC) Forum had called on President Bola Tinubu and the party’s leadership to uphold fairness and return the office of the APC National Chairman to the North-Central region, ahead of the crucial National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 24, 2025.
The Forum also firmly rejected calls for the extension of the acting chairmanship of Ali Bukar Dalori, the Deputy National Chairman (North) from Borno State, who stepped in following the resignation of Ganduje
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Forum’s Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, who also served on the APC Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 elections, said returning the chairmanship to the North-Central would not only reflect equity and fairness but also align with the party’s internal zoning arrangements.
“There are several capable personalities in the North-Central who can lead the APC. We appeal to the President to choose any one of them to lead the party as National Chairman,” Zazzaga said.
The Forum warned that ignoring the North-Central zone would amount to political betrayal, especially since the region had previously held the position through Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who emerged as Chairman in 2022 but resigned before completing his tenure.
