Concerns have been expressed by political analyst Emmanuel Aziken regarding the selection of Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda as the new National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Aziken has described Yilwatda’s rise as unanticipated and lacking broad comprehension even inside the party. Yilwatda’s appointment appeared to circumvent established people who had been seen as contenders for the job for a considerable amount of time, according to Aziken, who made this observation in an interview with AIT.
During the period leading up to the APC leadership change, he explained that Yilwatda, who had previously run for governor of Plateau State, was not one of the names that was popularly anticipated. In his argument, Aziken said that his abrupt appearance may be interpreted as either a substantial shift in the internal strategy of the party or a possible lack of agreement among the party’s stakeholders.
One of the examples that Aziken provided was a recent incident in which a senior official of the APC had difficulty pronouncing Yilwatda’s name when making an appearance on television. It was through this particular occasion that he demonstrated how unknown the new chairman was, not just to the general public but also to the members of his own party among the ranks of the party.
On the other hand, Yilwatda offers a profile that could perhaps work in his favour, despite the fact that his appearance was unexpected. According to Aziken, his history does not have the baggage of corruption that is associated with some of his predecessors, notably those who worked in ministries that were later tainted by scandals. Considering that Yilwatda is a Christian and that he has a reasonably clean political slate, it is possible that his nomination was affected by the fact that the party is attempting to re-calibrate its image. One interpretation of this action is that it is a purposeful endeavour to appeal to new groups or to soften popular impressions of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Nevertheless, Aziken came to the conclusion that the circumstances behind Yilwatda’s emergence pose significant concerns regarding the manner in which decisions are made within Nigeria’s ruling party, as well as issues of transparency and internal democracy. During the time that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is getting ready for the next election cycle, the outcome of this appointment could have long-term repercussions.
“Yilwatda was not even in the reckoning. In point of fact, if I must tell you, I heard a national officer of the party speaking on television yesterday; he was so short on words that he couldn’t even pronounce the name because he appeared out of nowhere. The fact that he is a Christian and has the least amount of baggage, coming even from a ministry that has fallen multiple predecessors—all of his prior predecessors have been indicted with corruption—but he is now coming in without any further baggage of wrongdoing,” he stated.
