Zainab Abioye
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has described opposition parties participating in the 2027 general elections as “just participants,” declaring that the ruling party is prepared to win elections across the country.
Yilwatda made the declaration on Saturday while briefing journalists at the end of a three-day retreat for members of the APC National Working Committee in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The APC chairman said the party had intensified preparations for the elections, including the inauguration of campaign councils and reconciliation committees, while expressing confidence in candidates produced through its primary elections.
“The party is healthy, and we are confident we have produced the most credible and acceptable candidates to be elected,” Yilwatda said.
He said the NWC had resolved to take charge of the party’s campaign and communicate the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to Nigerians ahead of the elections.
The APC also passed a vote of confidence in Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and other candidates flying the party’s flag in the 2027 elections.
100 cases from 7,000 participants
Yilwatda dismissed concerns over disputes arising from the party’s primaries, saying only about 100 cases had been instituted in court from between 6,000 and 7,000 members who participated in the various primary elections.
He argued that the number of litigants was too small to suggest that the party was facing widespread internal crisis.
“With 6,000 to 7,000 members who participated in the primary elections, we have about 100 cases in court; that means an average of less than three cases per state.
“It means just one per cent of the people that participated in the election went to court; do you think my party is in bad shape? Only one per cent went to court. We are very confident our party would win the elections,” he said.
‘We are most prepared’
The APC chairman also highlighted the party’s early campaign preparations, claiming that the ruling party was the first to constitute its campaign council ahead of the 2027 polls.
“APC is the first to constitute a campaign council; I don’t think any other party has done that. NDC constituted one and later said it’s a support group; ADC only announced the leaders and is yet to constitute their campaign council,” Yilwatda said.
He further pointed to the APC’s electoral record as evidence of its preparedness, while dismissing the capacity of what he described as the major opposition parties.
“We are the most prepared; we contested in many elections and won. The major opposition parties you are talking about, none of them has ever won a councilorship; as far as I am concerned, they are just participants in this election,” he said.
The chairman’s remarks come as political parties intensify mobilisation, candidate selection, reconciliation and campaign preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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