The All Progressives Congress (APC) is preparing to appoint the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Nentawe Yilwatda, as its Acting National Chairman.
According to The Whistler, the announcement is expected to be made during the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday.
This development follows the resignation of Abdullahi Ganduje on June 27.
After Ganduje stepped down, the position was temporarily held by the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Ali Bukar Dalori.
Now, Yilwatda appears set to take over, unless a last-minute change occurs.
Party insiders revealed that the decision to choose Yilwatda is not just about his qualifications, but also about respecting the APC’s zoning arrangement.
Leaders and groups from the North-Central region had earlier urged President Bola Tinubu and the party leadership to return the chairmanship slot to the region.
The North-Central All Progressives Congress (NC APC) Forum openly rejected the continued leadership of Dalori, who is from Borno State in the North-East, insisting that the North-Central deserves the position for the sake of fairness.
Apart from the chairmanship issue, party leaders are also expected to discuss some matters that may be affecting unity within the APC.
Yilwatda, born in 1968 in Plateau State, is an engineer, academic, and politician.
He joined Tinubu’s cabinet in October 2024 and contested for the Plateau State governorship in 2023 under the APC.
Before his ministerial role, he served as Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue State and worked as the ICT director at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, for over a decade.
He was also the Plateau State coordinator for the Tinubu/Shettima campaign in the last general elections.
His relationship with former Plateau governor, Simon Lalong, has remained strong over the years.
When Lalong became a senator, Yilwatda was widely supported to take over the ministerial slot for the state.
Though he challenged the 2023 election result in Plateau State, the court upheld the PDP’s win.
Yilwatda accepted the ruling and moved on.
