‘We Regret Our Agitation’ — APC Forum Apologizes Over Call for North-Central National Chairman

The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum expressed sorrow for advocating for a local candidate to be the APC’s national leader.

Adamu Abdullahi, a former governor of Nasarawa, emerged when the APC national chairman position was assigned to the North-Central during the party’s convention in 2022. However, Abdullahi Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State in the North-West, was named the party’s national chairman after he resigned in 2023 before serving out his term.

A movement to restore the post to the zone was started by the North-Central APC Forum, a coalition of APC stakeholders from the North-Central states. The Forum organized a number of press conferences, protests, rallies, comments, and correspondence with party organizations, especially the Progressive Governors Forum, regarding the topic.

Professor Nentawe Yilwatda of the North-Central Plateau State was eventually named the party’s national chairman on July 24, 2025.

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The North-Central APC Forum, however, expressed dissatisfaction with Yilwatda’s performance, pointing out that he hasn’t proven he is capable of leading the party. The APC national chairman was also charged by the Forum with advancing a religious agenda and using his position to further his personal political goals in Plateau State.

Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the chairman of the North-Central APC Forum, issued a statement in Abuja on Sunday. The remark was made in response to a video clip in which Yilwatda claimed to be representing North-Central Christians at a church service.

The APC Forum condemned Yilwatda’s actions and apologized to everyone it had harmed while pushing for the North-Central to regain the party’s national chairmanship.

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“We, the North-Central APC Forum, regret our agitation for the return of the position of APC national chairman to the North-Central region,” the statement said in part. We sincerely apologize to the party leaders we harmed during the agitation. We extend our apologies to Mr. President, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, the former national chairman, and other party officials.

“We made this decision because the North-Central candidate for APC national chairman, who was appointed in response to our agitation, has not demonstrated the ability to manage such a delicate role and steer the party to new heights. He has demonstrated that he lacks the ability to bring the North-Central people together.

The national chairman has been observed adopting a sectional religious stance on delicate matters, despite the fact that the North-Central area is secular. He claimed to be speaking for the Christians of the North-Central in a widely shared video clip. This goes against national and party ideals. Furthermore, this stance is in opposition to this nation’s leadership.

“After taking these concerns into account, we have made the decision to apologize for insisting that a member of the North-Central be appointed as the APC’s national chairperson. We are sorry for what we did. We fought for that position to return to North-Central for a year, a year and a half, and a lot of resources. Eventually, Mr. President and the party’s officials heard our plea.

“Because we were the only group involved in the agitation, we are apologizing.”

The APC Forum pointed out that Yilwatda, who has never been elected as a delegate or councillor, lacks the necessary political experience to hold the role of party national chairman.

When the party first planned a national convention in December 2025, the North-Central APC stakeholders encouraged President Tinubu to name a more capable individual from any zone as national chairman.

“But regrettably, the position was given to somebody that does not understand politics—someone that has not been in politics for long,” the statement continued. He has only been in politics for around three years. He has never been elected, not even as a council member or delegate. Therefore, he shouldn’t be in that important role. He lacks communication skills and the ability to bring people together. The unity party members in Plateau State and the North-Central have been dispersed by his handling of the situation.

“We also want Mr. President to relocate the APC national chairman position to any other zone in December, provided that the candidate is qualified and able to ensure the party’s success. We implore Mr. President to name a capable individual from any zone to lead the party, even if the convention does not take place in December as scheduled.

The Forum emphasized that its pledge to provide Tinubu with six million votes from the North-Central in 2027 would not be impacted by the absence of the national chairman from the zone.

“The Attorney-General of the Federation and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation are among the positions held by the North-Central that are sufficient to support the party in the zone. The North-Central Development Commission is another. In order to deliver votes for Mr. President in 2027, we do not require the position of APC national chairman. We have already assured Mr. President that we will deliver, and we will keep our word.

Similarly, the APC Forum said that Yilwatda is responsible for the opposition to Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s potential APC defection. The Forum has been supporting an effort to persuade Muftwang to switch from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC. However, the Plateau State APC leadership has been against the plan, voting a resolution to refuse the governor’s arrival.

According to the Forum, Yilwatda is preventing Mutfwang from running for the Plateau governorship in 2027. In 2023, Muftwang of the PDP defeated Yilwatda, the APC’s nominee for Plateau governor.

Yilwatda was advised by the North-Central APC Forum to step down as the party’s national chairman and pursue his goal of becoming governor. Additionally, Yilwatda was charged with exploiting his position to undermine the North-Central APC Forum’s party support group certificate, which has been in place since 2018.

The national chairman is preventing Governor Caleb Mutfwang from joining the party because he intends to run for governor of Plateau State once more in 2027. Because we are urging Muftwang to defect to the APC, which we think is best for the party, he is funding people to attack us.

Therefore, we are also requesting that the national chairman resign from the role and focus on his goal of running for governor of Plateau State in 2027. The message went on, “If he is a true leader, he should not prevent individuals from joining to bolster the party.