…takes oath of office
Nentawe Yilwatda, newly elected National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has promised to work towards unifying all contending forces within the party.
Yilwatda stated this on Thursday shortly after taking Oath of Office at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The new Chairman succeeds Abdullahi Ganduje, who resigned from the party last month, commended the party leaders for reposing confidence in him.
He spoke at the 14th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party on Thursday.
“Let me express my profound gratitude to God and the leadership of the party, from the President, to the Governors, and the National Assembly members, all members of NEC, for reposing this big burden and trust also in me to lead the party at this juncture.
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“Let me thank you also for picking me among millions of members of this party, and that the party will see me good enough and responsible enough to take this party to the next level.
“ I do not take this mandate for granted. I want to accept it with gratitude and with my full heart and with my 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 is our vehicle and we are I’ll fix it and move it to our destination of choice.
“I pledge without hesitation that I will work with everybody in the party, unite the party, build the party, expand party with you as the focus and the building block and the support I will require to drive the party as needed by all of us so that we can fulfil the dream of Nigerians who have reposed their hope in the renewed hope agenda.
“ Lastly, I will trust and look up to the leadership of the party, members of the party and all of you seated here for us to fulfil the dreams of the Nigerians of APC.”
The APC, on Thursday, elected Nentawe Yilwatda, the current Humanitarian Affairs Minister, as the new National Chairman of the ruling party.
Yilatda’s appointed was confirmed on Thursday during the NEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The motion for the election of the new APC National Chairman was moved by Hope Uzodimma, Governor of Imo State and APC Governors’ Forum Chairman.
Yilwatda, who hails from Plateau State, is an academic and engineer by training.
He was appointed as the Humanitarian Affairs Minister in August last year by President Bola Tinubu.
Shortly after the ratification, Yilwatda took the Oath of Office administered by Oghenovo O Otemu, a legal practitioner.
Yilwatda, a Professor of Artificial Intelligence and former Resident Electoral Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), previously served as the APGA Governorship Candidate in Plateau State during the 2023 general elections.
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His appointment as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs in 2024 followed the resignation of Simon Lalong, the then Minister of Labour, who resigned to take his position as Senator.
Known for his advocacy of digital innovation in governance and social protection, Yilwatda is expected to bring a reform-driven approach to the APC leadership as the party navigates ongoing internal restructuring and prepares for future electoral contests.
Party insiders say his emergence is also part of a broader strategy to strengthen the APC’s national outlook and reconcile aggrieved factions ahead of its next convention.
