Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda yesterday took the baton as the 7th National Chairman of the 11-year-old All Progressives Congress (APC) – the ruling party since defeating the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
Yilwatda, who is an engineering professor, replaced Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, immediate past governor of Kano State.
Before his election during the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party at the Conference Centre of the Aso Villa, Yilwatda, 56, was Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Poverty Alleviation.
Yilwatda said: “I pledge without hesitation that I will work with everybody in the party, unite the party, build the party, expand the 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.
“I accept this mandate with gratitude and a complete sense of responsibility, determined to work with all of you to fulfil the dreams of Nigerians who have reposed their hope in the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
Yilwatda, who was the APC standard bearer in the 2023 governorship poll in Plateau State said the task ahead requires collective effort.
“We are all mechanics of this vehicle—the APC—and together, we will fix it and drive it to our destination,” he declared.
He thanked the party’s leadership, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, governors, members of the National Assembly and National Executive Committee (NEC) members for what he called “a great responsibility at a pivotal time.
His choice to lead the APC followed a consensus nomination moved by the Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF)/Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma.
