Abuja, Jan. 2, 2026 — The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has dismissed concerns about the party’s future after President Bola Tinubu’s exit, insisting the APC has the structures, leadership depth, and grassroots support to remain dominant.
Yilwatda made the remarks on Friday while appearing on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme, amid growing debates about succession and the party’s relevance beyond Tinubu’s tenure.
“Of course, the party will survive after Tinubu. Before him, the APC survived; with him, the APC survived. Even when he was not the president, his hand was visible,” he said.
The national chairman recalled Tinubu’s pivotal role in establishing the APC ahead of the 2015 general elections, and his leadership of the 2019 reconciliation committee set up by late President Muhammadu Buhari to address internal disputes.
“He (Tinubu) was not the president then, but did he champion the reconciliation? Yes. With what he did, we won the 2019 elections,” Yilwatda noted.
Looking ahead, Yilwatda said Tinubu’s influence would continue to guide the APC as a former president and national leader, leveraging his experience, network, and political strategy.
“Now he will be coming as a former president, providing leadership for us. Anybody coming in will depend heavily on his experience, heavily on his network, and on that scientific political approach he has been using,” he said.
Yilwatda also rejected claims that the APC would struggle to secure votes in the North during the 2027 elections, pointing to the August 2025 by-election results as proof of the party’s growing acceptance across the region.
“Election took place across the whole northern part of Nigeria. We lost only one House of Assembly seat. We won in Kebbi, Kano, Kaduna, Adamawa, Kogi, and Niger,” he said.
He emphasized that the APC’s victories cut across religious and ethnic lines, reflecting a broad-based support structure.
“We won elections in the North Central among core Muslim communities. We won among the minorities of northern Nigeria, and we won among Christian-dominated communities of northern Nigeria. That means our party is more distributed,” Yilwatda said.
The chairman concluded that no other party achieved similar reach in the by-elections, describing the APC as the most dominant political force at the grassroots level.
“There is no political party in that by-election that won in more than one geopolitical zone. It clearly shows that the APC is more acceptable and dominant at the grassroots. An ordinary person at the grassroots believes in this political party,” he added
Babatunde Akinsola ✔
Babatunde Akinsola is aNaija247news' Southwest editor. He's based in Lagos and writes on the Yoruba Nation political issues, news and investigative reports
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