…Quiet Tactician Moulded In Tinubu’s Political School Of Thought
…He’ll Lock In N/Central, Deliver Youths For President – Plateau Politician
…With Him, No Need To Change VP – Party Source
… Election Confirms THE WHISTLER Exclusive Report
The man who will orchestrate President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign speaks in measured tones and thinks three moves ahead. Those who have worked closely with Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, the new All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, say he doesn’t enter a room to be seen, but rather to shift the ground. He speaks sparingly, listens obsessively, and calculates like an engineer rewiring a system he already understands.
Described as a “dangerous political strategist”, party sources who spoke with THE WHISTLER said he is a tactician with the instincts of a sniper and the patience of a chess grandmaster.
President Tinubu and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC handed over the reins of the party to him during the NEC meeting held on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
His emergence was hailed as a “masterstroke” by the APC NEC. Until his election, Professor Yilwatda was the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.
The NEC’s endorsement ended weeks of speculation about who would replace Abdullahi Ganduje, who resigned in June, citing health reasons.
The decision on Yilwatda was reported first by THE WHISTLER on Wednesday.
A party source told THE WHISTLER on Thursday that the new chairman’s political instincts, youth appeal, and ICT background are essential ingredients for APC’s success at the next general election.
“He is a dangerous strategist,” a party insider told THE WHISTLER in an exclusive interview. “He came into politics after leaving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and he is very good with ICT. He’s also a professor of engineering.”
“People with ICT background, when you examine their emotional intelligence, are usually quiet, and such a person is a strategist. He’s also always thinking of how to manoeuvre his way in terms of technology,” the source said.
The APC source also described Yilwatda as an ideological offspring of President Tinubu’s political strategy.
“Yilwatda is an offspring of the Tinubu political strategy ideology. You know Tinubu is very quiet, but you will see his things going smoothly everywhere. So, Yilwatda can be likened to President Tinubu’s quiet and strategic nature. He’s very quiet but strikes like Tinubu,” said the source.
“So, as someone coming from the Tinubu political school of thought, the choice of Professor Yilwatda is a masterstroke by the APC NEC.”
According to the party chieftain, the similarity between Tinubu and Yilwatda became evident during the latter’s bid for the 2023 APC gubernatorial ticket in Plateau State.
“When many people were campaigning to be the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State, he was very quiet behind the scenes and before you know it, everything worked in his favour and he became the candidate.
“In fact, I have never seen Professor Yilwatda fail in any of his political calculations apart from losing the Plateau governorship election by a slim margin,” the source added.
Meanwhile, central to APC’s 2027 calculations is Yilwatda’s ability to connect with Nigeria’s youth demographic, said the party chieftain.
“Professor Yilwatda can simply walk into a roadside restaurant and engage youths in a conversation and share ideas with them. Apart from this, Yilwatda is social media friendly. You could chat him up on Facebook, for instance, and he would be quick to reply,” the source explained.
The ruling party is said to be targeting Nigeria’s youth in the next election, which comprises about 70 per cent of the country’s total population, and about 60-70 per cent of the country’s eligible voters.
As of 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said there were a total of 93,469,008 eligible voters in its voters register after the final cleanup that includes the removal of double registration and underage voters.
The commission said 49,054,162 or 52.5 per cent of the total voters were male while the remaining 44,414,846 or 47.5 per cent were female voters. The register also showed that 37,060,399 or 39.65 per cent of voters were between the ages of 18 and 34; while 33,413,591 or 35.75 per cent are middle-aged persons between the ages of 35 and 49.
The source told THE WHISTLER that Yilwatda’s appeal to these demographics could prove decisive for the ruling APC.
“So, if he (Yilwatda) plays his cards very well the way he did when he emerged APC’s gubernatorial candidate in Plateau and captured the young population, the ruling party will emerge victorious at the polls in 2027,” he predicted.
The new APC chairman polled 44.55 per cent (481,400 votes) against Caleb Mutfwang’s 48.62 per cent (525,299 votes). On March 20, 2023, Mutfwang was declared the winner by INEC. However, Yilwatda rejected the results and commenced a legal battle that initially succeeded with a Court of Appeal judgement in November that overturned the result and declared Yilwatda as the rightful winner. However, the Supreme Court upheld the election of Mutfwang in January 2024. The apex court’s decision led to tensions across the state following a protest that ensued.
Meanwhile, the party is banking on Yilwatda to deliver Plateau and North Central for Tinubu at the polls.
“So, as the APC national Chairman, Yilwatda can guarantee more than 400,000 votes in Plateau toward President Tinubu’s re-election at the polls. This means that President Yilwatda can deliver Plateau State to Tinubu in the next presidential election,” he said.
Another party source said in a chat with THE WHISTLER: “With Professor Yilwatda as national chairman, there’s no need for any discussion about changing the vice president as President Tinubu’s running. His strategic positioning eliminates that conversation,” said the source.
“While some people have been whispering about whether President Tinubu needs a different running mate for 2027, Yilwatda’s appointment makes that discussion irrelevant. He brings everything we need to the table – youth appeal, Northern representation, and proven electoral strategy, and he is a Christian.”
The source added, “The beauty of having Yilwatda as chairman is that he complements a Tinubu-Shettima ticket. Vice President Shettima remains an asset, and why fix what isn’t broken when you can strengthen what’s already working?”
“Any talk of changing running mates was always about electoral calculations. Can we win the North? Can we capture the youth vote? Can we manage the electoral process effectively? Yilwatda answers all these questions from the chairman’s position. so the last ticket is intact.”
In his acceptance speech, Yilwatda struck themes of unity and pledged to build the party.
“I do not take this mandate for granted,” he said. “I want to accept it with gratitude, and with my full heart and full mind, to work together with you to build the party, knowing that all of us here are the mechanics of the party, and the party’s survival will fix it, and move it to a destination of choice.”
“I pledge, without hesitation, that I will work with everybody in the party, I will unite the party, I will build the party, I will expand the party… so that we can fulfill the dreams of Nigerians who have lost their hope in the Renew Hope Agenda,” the source added.
Born August 8, 1968, the Plateau-born engineer served as INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue State from July 2017 to December 2021, and oversaw elections across Benue, Anambra, Osun, Rivers, and Cross River.
He served as the ICT director at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, for over 26 years. He also served as the Plateau coordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign council in 2023.
