By Daniel Agbo
JOS, Nigeria — Nentawe Yilwatda, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), declared that no governor or individual exercises total control over the ruling party, emphasizing that major decisions are strictly coordinated at the national headquarters.
Speaking on the “Sunset” program on Jay FM in Jos, Plateau State, Yilwatda addressed ongoing concerns regarding internal power dynamics and the influence of high-ranking officials on party administration.
The chairman asserted that the APC operates through established institutional structures rather than personal influence, noting that even state-level activities are initiated and supervised by the national leadership.
“Across the country, nobody can take any section of the party,” Yilwatda said. “For anything you are going to do at the state level, it is planned at the national level. It is not planned at the state level. This is the APC structure, and that is how we work.”
Yilwatda’s comments come amid a political landscape where state governors have traditionally held significant sway over party machinery within their domains. However, the chairman insisted that no officeholder—including senators or party executives—has unilateral authority.
“We work with structure. We don’t work with sentiments and emotions,” Yilwatda stated. “Nobody has control over the party, even me. No local government chairman has control over APC. No governor has control over APC. No senator or individual has control over APC.”
According to the chairman, this reliance on institutional processes is a deliberate strategy to strengthen internal democracy. He added that the party’s framework is designed to prevent the dominance of any single individual or political bloc, ensuring that the APC remains a collective entity.
