APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda has cautioned that a victory for Atiku Abubakar or Peter Obi in the 2027 election could worsen poverty in Northern Nigeria if their administration abandons key economic reforms implemented by President Bola Tinubu. Yilwatda spoke in Abuja while receiving former ADC House of Assembly candidates from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and […]

APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda has cautioned that a victory for Atiku Abubakar or Peter Obi in the 2027 election could worsen poverty in Northern Nigeria if their administration abandons key economic reforms implemented by President Bola Tinubu.

Yilwatda spoke in Abuja while receiving former ADC House of Assembly candidates from Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara states who defected to the APC.

He particularly challenged opposition proposals to restore the fuel subsidy, asking how the policy would be financed without affecting ongoing government projects.

The APC chairman argued that the removal of the subsidy had made more resources available for infrastructure, agriculture and education, including projects and programmes he said were benefiting Northern communities.

He cited major federal road projects across the region, including the Abuja-Kano and Kano-Maiduguri corridors, alongside other roads connecting several states in the North and North-Central zones.

Yilwatda also rejected claims that the Tinubu administration had neglected the North, accusing opposition politicians of using Hausa-language radio programmes to spread what he described as misleading narratives about the Federal Government.

He further pointed to gas and fertiliser projects, compressed natural gas initiatives and the student loan programme, saying Northern Nigerians were among the beneficiaries of these programmes.

On the finances of Northern states, Yilwatda said all states in the region were unable to pay salaries as of 2023 when Tinubu assumed office, while about 30 states across Nigeria were facing salary-payment difficulties.

He questioned whether the region should return to what he described as an era of unpaid salaries and gratuities, arguing that such a development could increase poverty.

Yilwatda subsequently urged the former ADC members and APC supporters to return to their communities and strengthen the party’s grassroots structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In Ondo State, APC National Women Leader Mary Alile Idele also rallied support for Tinubu’s re-election, saying the President should be allowed to complete two terms before power moves to another region.

Idele made the call in Akure during the inauguration of the Tinubu Torch Bearers structure in the state, where she urged women to spread the administration’s message across communities.

She reinforced the APC’s “four plus four” position, declaring, “Four+four is equal to eight.”

Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, represented by Deputy Governor Olayide Adelami, said Ondo was targeting more than one million votes for Tinubu and urged women and youths to intensify grassroots mobilisation.

In Imo, APC leaders from Owerri Zone approached traditional rulers in the nine local government areas for support for Tinubu and the party, while also seeking backing for the zone’s bid to produce the next governor.