The emergence of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, as the new national chairman of the All Progressives Congress has annoyed some Nigerians, particularly members of the opposition.
Yilwatda’s former role as a Resident Electoral Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission is viewed by the opposition as a strategic move by President Bola Tinubu to compromise the commission’s independence ahead of the 2027 general election.
Reacting to the concerns raised, the Director of Publicity of the ruling APC, Bala Ibrahim, immediately dismissed the fears of the opposition.
According to him, there is nothing wrong with a former INEC official working with the APC because the commission is not a cult.
He stated that Nigerian political parties regularly engage former INEC staff as advisers, and some even hire them for consultations.
“Is INEC a cult? Are political parties not engaging former INEC staff as advisers or consultants to work for them? There is nothing wrong with someone who worked somewhere before working for a political party.
Who says a retired coach cannot be an adviser to a team? Are we saying a retired police officer cannot work as a security consultant in another organisation?” he said.
Ibrahim further noted that Prof Yilwatda’s emergence does not in any way give APC an advantage ahead of the forthcoming elections.
He concluded by saying that Prof Yilwatda’s previous INEC role will help the party avoid anything that will undermine the commission.
“Our national chairman was an ex-staff member of INEC, but he does not have access to any of the umpire’s facilities.
His knowledge of INEC can help the party (APC) to avoid anything that can be a disadvantage to it,” he added.
