PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday welcomed the appointment of Nentawe Yilwatda as the new National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), while taking a subtle swipe at the opposition coalition.
He warned that ‘it is not a bad idea to abandon a sinking ship’ or quit what he called a ‘coalition of confusion.’
Tinubu made the remarks at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the APC in Abuja, where the decision to appoint Yilwatda, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, as the APC’s new national chairman was formally announced.
His emergence followed the resignation of Abdullahi Ganduje, who cited health reasons amid mounting internal and legal pressures for his exit.
Addressing party leaders at the high-level meeting, Tinubu said the ruling party would not be swayed by ‘desperate’ political realignments and urged party members to remain committed to the ideals of the APC.
He also noted that the APC’s door remained open to opposition members planning to join the party, adding that the APC had a clear vision, contrasting it with opposition camps that he described as ‘confused’ and ‘shrinking.’
“I thank all of you for the show of love, solidarity and accommodation,” Tinubu said. “I could absorb the motion of accommodation to say we will postpone or recognise in addition for all other spaces that are available—more members are still coming.
“If we accommodate the congresses to December, that’s making room for those who are still coming. And then it’s not a bad idea to abandon a sinking ship and be absent from a coalition of confusion.”
The president’s comment was a reaction to the emergence of a new political alliance comprising former governors, lawmakers, and politicians who have criticised his administration’s economic reforms and are also moving to dislodge him and his party in the 2027 polls.
The ICIR reports that APC is currently enjoying defections into its fold and facing questions about its future heading into the next election cycle.
The president and leader of the ruling party’s latest remarks also came barely 24 hours after the opposition PDP lost two more senators, Sampson Ekong and Aniekan Bassey from Akwa Ibom State, to the APC.
Their defection followed a similar move by all three PDP senators from Kebbi State and echoed a broader trend of party fragmentation across several states, including Delta and Cross River.
The ICIR reported that the party’s collapse in Delta was backed by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, who facilitated the handover of the PDP’s structure to the APC. In Cross River, several influential PDP leaders have also jumped ship.
The situation worsened when former Atiku Abubakar resigned from the PDP last week, describing the move as ‘heartbreaking’ but necessary. In a letter to his ward in Jada, Adamawa State, Abubakar accused the PDP of betraying its founding principles and failing to present a viable path forward.
The former vice president, who may now seek the presidency for the seventh time, had earlier left the PDP in 2014 for the APC, only to return later. His current alliance with the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 poll, Peter Obi, former Kaduna and Rivers governor Nasir El-Rufai and Rotimi Amaechi, respectively, has bolstered his attempt to realign Nigeria’s political opposition under a new platform.
The coalition recently adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as its party, with many believing that Abubakar will emerge as the presidential flagbearer.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M