- APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda broke ranks with party governors over Nyesom Ezenwo Wike's Rainbow Coalition controversy
- Yilwatda drew a distinction between what APC governors can demand of members and what they can impose on leaders of other parties
- The APC chairman pointed to the Labour Party as an example of a party backing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu without abandoning their own candidates
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over nine years of experience covering politics, elections, public affairs, and governance in Nigeria and Africa.
FCT, Abuja - APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda has said he has no objection to anyone, including FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, choosing to support President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid in 2027, even if that support comes from outside the party.
Yilwatda made the remarks on Sunday during an appearance on Channels Television's Sunday Politics, monitored by Legit.ng, distancing himself from the hard-line position taken by APC governors who publicly rejected Wike's Rainbow Coalition and any political arrangement they believed could hurt the party's candidates in the 2027 elections.
Source: Twitter
Yilwatda draws line between party loyalty, personal choice
The national chairman explained that Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), cannot be directed by APC on whom to back at the polls.
"As a party, we will not choose for other parties. So, for example, I can't enforce on Wike what he should support. He has a right to express what he wants to do. He say he will support us," Yilwatda said.
He pointed to the Labour Party as an example of a party with no presidential candidate that has aligned with Tinubu's re-election drive while still fielding its own candidates in other contests. He argued that such arrangements fall within the rights of any political group or individual.
Source: Twitter
When pressed on whether his position amounted to an endorsement of the Rainbow Coalition, Plateau-born Yilwatda was firm in his clarification.
"No. Listen, I said, he is in a different political party. I cannot make a choice of who he will select or who he will vote for in the general election. I am not opposed to anybody who wants to support President Bola Tinubu. The governors' position is that they are promoting their own party in their states, they will support only APC," he said.
On the governors' stance, Yilwatda acknowledged their position but framed it as one that applies strictly to themselves and their states.
"The governors said that they will support their candidates from top to bottom as governors. Even me, as a party chairman, I will support our candidates as APC from top to bottom. I will not support anybody other than my party," he said.
'APC is dominating Nigeria' - Yilwatda
Yilwatda used the interview to reinforce the party's confidence ahead of 2027, citing its performance in off-season governorship and legislative elections as proof of its national reach.
He noted that major opposition parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), failed to finish second to APC in those contests, which he said demonstrated the ruling party's strength on the ground.
Nentawe Yilwatda defends APC
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Yilwatda denied that the ruling party shields members from legal prosecution, insisting that several members of his party are already standing trial in court.
Yilwatda made his position clear during a television appearance while responding to widespread allegations that politicians facing criminal or civil charges could avoid accountability by aligning themselves with the ruling party.
Source: Legit.ng