The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda, has been announced as the new National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Yilwatda’s appointment came following his nomination and election by the members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
During the NEC meeting, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, nominated Yilwatda for the position, and the motion was seconded by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen.
Following the nomination, a voice vote commenced with the NEC members present at the meeting expressing their approval for Yilwatda’s appointment as the new APC National Chairman.
His emergence came at a time when the APC aims to consolidate its hold on power at the federal level and in some states whose governors recently defected to the ruling party.
The 56-year-old Yilwatda, from Plateau State, now takes over from Abdullahi Ganduje as the chairman of the party after the latter resigned from the position in June, citing personal reasons.
Below are 10 things to know about Nentawe Yilwatda;
1). Yilwatda was born on 8 August 1968.
2). He is a Nigerian politician from Plateau State, an engineer, and academic.
3). From 1981-1986, he attended Boys’ Secondary School (BSS), Gindiri. He later secured admission into the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi.
4). Before entering politics, Yilwatda was a staff member at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Plateau State.
5). He was the ICT director at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, for 12 years.
6). He was a member of the University’s Senate from 2006 to 2017.
7). Between July 2017 – December 2021, he held the position of resident electoral commissioner in Benue state.
8). Yilwatda was the flagrunner for his party in the 2023 gubernatorial election in Plateau state, losing the election.
9). After his electoral loss, President Bola Tinubu appointed Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development in October 2024.
10). He succeeded Ganduje to become the new APC Chairman.
