The All Progressives Congress (APC) has named Dr. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda as its new National Chairman, following the resignation of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on health grounds.
Yilwatda, who until his appointment served as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, emerged as the consensus choice of party leaders seeking to reposition the party under a more technocratic and democratic leadership, breaking from the tradition of career politicians at the helm.
His appointment was confirmed ahead of Thursday’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party, following a high-level stakeholders’ meeting held at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. President Bola Tinubu, governors under the APC Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), and other party chieftains were part of the decisive session.
Sources within the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) disclosed that Yilwatda’s emergence also reflects a deliberate move to address religious imbalances in the party’s national leadership structure. As a Christian from Plateau State, his choice was described as both strategic and symbolic.
Dr. Yilwatda, who contested the 2023 governorship election in Plateau State on the platform of the APC, brings a wealth of experience in administration and electoral processes. Born on August 8, 1968, in Dungung, Kanke Local Government Area, Plateau State, he is the son of the late Rev. and Mrs. Toma Yilwatda.
He previously served as a Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Benue State, appointed in 2017. He is also a seasoned engineer, registered with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), and a member of several professional bodies including the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Yilwatda’s appointment marks a new chapter in the leadership of the APC as the party gears up for internal reforms and strategic realignments ahead of future electoral contests.
