The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has hailed the emergence of Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda as National Chairman of the party, describing the development as the successful outcome of its over two-year agitation for the return of the position to the region.

Yilwatda was named APC National Chairman after the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting, which was held at the Presidential Villa on Thursday.

Following the development, Yilwatda, who is also the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, will immediately take charge of the party’s affairs as substantive National Chairman, replacing Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, who resigned on June 27, 2023.

In a statement released shortly after the NEC ratified Yilwatda as National Chairman, the North-Central APC Forum thanked President Bola Tinubu for “ensuring that justice prevailed at last in the resolution of the leadership question in the APC”.

In the statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC campaign council in the 2023 election, the North-Central APC Forum celebrated the successful outcome of its agitation for the return of the position of National Chairman to the region.

The statement reads: “This is a major milestone for stakeholders of the North-Central under the umbrella of the North-Central APC Forum. For more than two years, we agitated that the position of National Chairman should return to the North-Central, in line with the current zoning arrangement. Our agitation was informed by the need for fairness and equity, and in the course of this struggle, we have gone to court, we led protests, issued open letters and made several statements. We fought with doggedness, but we respected the leaders of the party, even when decisions did not go our way on certain occasions.

“We are indeed glad that at last, justice has been done, our cries have been heard, and the North-Central has been given what should rightfully come to it.”
The forum equally described Tinubu as a listening President.

“The North-Central APC Forum sincerely thanks President Bola Tinubu for listening to our call for the return of the position of the National Chairman to the North-Central region. This has, once again, proved beyond any doubt that President Bola Tinubu is a listening President. He has once again demonstrated uncommon political will and judgment, which he has applied in initiating and driving key reforms and programmes that are evidently turning Nigeria on the right course.

“We also thank other leaders and stakeholders of the party, particularly members of the NEC, for this decision. The North-Central is truly grateful, and we can guarantee that this decision will galvanise the region to offer even more for the progress of the party.

“We believe that justice and fairness have at last prevailed in the resolution of the question over the leadership of the APC, which had been a rather painful open wound for stakeholders from the North-Central who had to bear the agony of being denied the position of National Chairman, which was rightfully zoned to the region. The decision taken by the NEC today shows that the contributions of the North-Central to the progress of the APC cannot be denied, and are indeed appreciated,” parts of the statement said.

The forum, in the same vein, restated its pledge to deliver six million votes for Tinubu in the North-Central in 2027. It noted that the task would now be made easier with the region restored to its rightful position, in line with the party’s subsisting zoning arrangement.