By Jude Opara
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has urged Nigerians to vote for President Bola Tinubu, saying that voting for the candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, respectively, would retard the progress already recorded by the present administration.
Yilwatda stated this on Monday when he received in his office some House of Assembly candidates from Zamfara, Plateau, Taraba and Jigawa states who defected to the ruling party.
He charged the defectors to continue to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, adding that the reported anti-Tinubu sentiments in parts of the North were false because the administration was already doing much to develop the region.
“For example, they will tell you on Hausa radio programmes that Mr. President doesn’t like the northern part of Nigeria. Let’s ask: Where are the northern Nigerians? Where are you? We’re part of the North.
“They’ll tell you he’s constructing roads in the South and he’s not doing anything in the North. The road from Abuja to Kano is 400 kilometres. The road from Kano to Maiduguri is 500 kilometres. The two of them alone are 900, almost 1,000 kilometres. So, just the road from Abuja heading to Kano that leads to Maiduguri — the one from Abuja to Kano — is nearly completed.
“Apart from the one that goes from Abuja to Lokoja, from Abuja to Benue and the one from Abuja to Akwanga, the one from Jos heading to Akwanga is under construction. The one from Kwara heading towards Mokwa into Niger is under construction. The one from Sokoto heading to Kebbi is under construction. The one from Zamfara, the one even going to Leila in Sokoto, is under construction. The one from Kano going to Daura is under construction. The one from Zaria heading towards Danja is under construction. I mean, if I keep counting all those roads, I keep asking: Where is the North they are talking about?”
The APC chairman further accused the presidential candidate of the ADC, Atiku Abubakar, of deliberately spreading falsehoods to secure the support of voters.
“If you’ve been listening to radio programmes by the opposition, especially the ADC, which have been painting stories of what does not exist, you wouldn’t have taken this wonderful decision. They have reached their dark end, and they can do anything possible to ensure that they deceive vulnerable Nigerians and gullible people.
“The same thing they keep saying — you know, the Hausa radio stations tell us that they will return the subsidy. I keep asking: How are they going to return the subsidy? You mean they will stop all this road construction because they want to return the subsidy? Because there will be no money for all this road construction again.
“The gas they are bringing to the North will come with fertiliser. And we in the North need that fertiliser, like yesterday, to farm. You mean they should stop it? The CNG will come with the gas, which has made transportation easier for vulnerable people. We should stop it?
“The beneficiaries of the student loan — most of them are from the North. We have more of them in this part of the country. We should stop it? And most of our people who can’t afford school fees should go back to being wheelbarrow pushers in the villages? The questions are too many. We can’t answer them all here.”
Yilwatda also described Tinubu as the best candidate for the presidency, adding that he was a unifier who gave opportunities to Nigerians of different ethnic and religious backgrounds when he served as governor of Lagos State.
“Mr. President is one of the most experienced politicians in Nigeria and also a technocrat who builds an inclusive home. Right from his family, you know how inclusive Mr. President is. He built a religiously tolerant home where Christians and Muslims live together.
“He built Lagos to accommodate everybody. A Muslim from Kano was a local government chairman in Lagos. Someone from Anambra State was Commissioner for Budget in Lagos State. We have National Assembly members from the North who represented constituencies in Lagos.
“It has never happened anywhere in this country. Tell me one of the candidates who built such an accommodating home. Obi was a governor in Anambra State. Tell me one person from outside Anambra State who was a commissioner in his cabinet. Kwankwaso was a governor in Kano. Tell me one person from outside Kano who was a commissioner in Kano State. None!”
The National Chairman also congratulated the defectors for making what he described as a huge sacrifice for the country by shelving their ambitions to contest House of Assembly seats in their respective states.
Earlier in her remarks, the leader of the group, Princess Aslam Aliyu, said the former ADC candidates decided to leave their former party after realising the need for Nigerians to join hands with President Tinubu’s administration to ensure his re-election in the overall interest of the nation.
Similarly, Hon. Mohammed Hassan, who spoke on behalf of the delegation, said they were not merely interested in changing their political platform but in beginning a new chapter of service and contributing to the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration.
“Our commitment remains clear: to support the party, mobilise our people, promote development and serve Nigeria with sincerity and dedication.
“On behalf of all the former candidates, I say thank you, sir. Thank you for welcoming us. We have come to work; we have come to contribute,” he concluded.
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