Nentawe describes LG chairmen as APC’s strongest pillars for 2027 victory
Njideka Ozoalor
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, has described Progressive Local Government Chairmen as the most critical structure for the party’s success in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking while receiving the chairmen in Abuja, Yilwatda said council chairmen are closer to the people at the grassroots than national leaders and therefore hold vital information needed to win elections.
“You are nearer to the people in the communities than we are. I don’t know all the stakeholders in your local government, but you know them,” he said, adding, “You know the local governments where we have issues. You can advise us on how we can win those local governments.”
The APC chairman stressed that council chairmen and councillors are the party’s “greatest tool for mobilisation at the lower level.”
He urged them to identify political appointees who are not delivering in their wards and constituencies.
“There is the word ‘political’ there. They are not just technocrats. You can’t be holding a political position and then say you are not a politician,” he stated, likening it to someone with tribal marks denying his ethnicity.
Yilwatda directed that all communication and administrative matters from the local government chairmen should go through the National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Basiru, rather than directly to him and said this will ensure efficiency and proper coordination.
He also mandated the National Secretary to work with Governor Hope Uzodimma and the Organising Secretary to build a seamless working relationship between the Progressive Local Government Chairmen and ALGON, similar to the relationship between the Progressive Governors’ Forum and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.
On mobilisation, the chairman said the party will participate actively in any lawful political gathering without waiting for formal invitation.
“If there is a political gathering that will improve our success story, we will be there,” he added and promised to lead carnivals, marches as well as door-to-door campaigns if necessary.
Yilwatda assured the chairmen of the party’s full support and said the same message of their work would be conveyed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He commended them for projects in schools, hospitals, bridges and clinics made possible by fiscal autonomy to local governments.
Nentawe further charged them with the responsibility of tackling multidimensional poverty at the grassroots by improving access to primary education, water, health, sanitation and infrastructure.
“Primary education is with you. Water is under you. Health is under you. If they say there is multidimensional poverty in your local government, you are responsible because it is you who provide access,” he said.
The APC chairman concluded by urging the party to lead from the front in service delivery, assuring the chairmen that the national leadership “will be with you step by step, toe to toe” to ensure victory in 2027.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Progressive Local Government Chairmen’s Forum, Hon. Mustafa Jibril Alheri, in his remarks pledged the forum’s commitment to active grassroots mobilisation for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
Speaking during the visit to the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe, in Abuja, Alheri described the APC as the party with the highest number of governors since 1999, with 31 states and 685 APC local government chairmen under its fold.
He commended the National Chairman’s leadership for wooing more members into the party despite current challenges.
Alheri said the forum is a strategic grassroots organisation made up of APC executive council chairmen dedicated to promoting the policies and programmes of the President while strengthening the party at the community level.
He noted that local government chairmen, being closest to the people, have structures, community trust and intelligence that are critical to election outcomes.
The chairman announced that the forum has a full national structure with two deputy chairmen, six zonal vice chairmen, and state coordinators across the 31 states where the APC controls local governments.
He said they are in discussions with state APC chairmen who nominated members of the forum and are seeking to partner with the Progressive Governors’ Forum led by Governor Hope Uzodimma.
Alheri further disclosed plans to mobilise all 685 APC local government chairmen and their councillors to Abuja for a massive rally to endorse President Tinubu for a second term.
He conveyed greetings from Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umar Bago, who he said has declared himself the DG of the Tinubu re-election project, and solicited the support of the national leadership to ensure the forum’s inauguration and success.
