The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reportedly chosen Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, the current Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, as its new national chairman.
Yilwatda emerged as the consensus candidate following a late-night meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC governors. His nomination is expected to be officially ratified at the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Yilwatda, 56, hails from Plateau State and was the APC gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 elections. His selection aligns with the party’s zoning arrangement, which reserves the chairmanship for the North-Central region—comprising Plateau, Benue, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Niger states.
Strategic Replacement Amid Internal Party Dynamics
The move comes after the resignation of former chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, which triggered discontent within the party, particularly among stakeholders from the North Central zone. Many had expressed dissatisfaction after the abrupt exit of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who was succeeded by Ganduje—both from outside the designated North Central zone.
Party insiders have described the choice of Yilwatda, a Christian, as a strategic response aimed at balancing religious and regional sentiments under the current Muslim-Muslim leadership of President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima. The decision is seen as part of efforts to appease aggrieved members and stabilize the party ahead of upcoming political activities.
Yilwatda is set to succeed acting chairman Ali Bukar Dalori, who stepped in after Ganduje’s departure. Dalori, the deputy national chairman, hails from Borno State—the same as Vice President Shettima—which reportedly made his continued tenure untenable for political balance.
“There’s no time to delay; the president wants to settle this issue once and for all,” a party source told Daily Trust. “He needs someone loyal, much like Adamu was to former President Buhari.”
Profile: Who Is Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda?
Yilwatda rose to national prominence after being appointed minister following the resignation of his mentor, Senator Simon Lalong, who returned to the Senate after a court ruling ousted the PDP senator for Plateau South.
Before joining the cabinet, Yilwatda was APC’s 2023 governorship candidate in Plateau but lost to PDP’s Caleb Mutfwang. A known loyalist of Lalong, he secured the APC ticket by defeating the former deputy governor Sonni Gwanle Tyoden and others. During the same election cycle, he served as the state coordinator for the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation.
From July 2017 to December 2021, Yilwatda was the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Benue State, a position he resigned from to contest for the APC ticket in 2022. He previously served for 12 years as Director of ICT at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.
Born on August 8, 1968, in Dungung, Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State, Yilwatda comes from a devout Christian background. He is the son of the late Rev. and Mrs. Toma Yilwatda. He obtained a degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering in 1992 from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, followed by a master’s degree from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, and a PhD in Digital Systems Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
In addition to his academic and political roles, Yilwatda is a community development expert and a lecturer with over 29 years of consulting experience with both local and international development agencies, as well as public and private institutions.
