By Daniel Kudayah
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has said that many politicians President Bola Tinubu supported in the past withdrew their support when he declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election.
Yilwatda spoke on Friday at the APC national secretariat in Abuja while welcoming politicians who defected from opposition parties in Sokoto, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano and Plateau states.
He said many politicians from the North and South who had received Tinubu’s support failed to stand by him when he sought the presidency.
“People that he has supported all through from the North and South, when he said he wanted to contest, most of them pulled out their support,” he said.
Yilwatda, however, said Tinubu eventually won the support of Nigerians who believed in his record and his role in promoting national unity and democracy.
He urged the new members to support Tinubu and his Renewed Hope Agenda.
The APC chairman also listed previous occasions when he said Tinubu supported northern politicians seeking the presidency.
He claimed that Tinubu supported former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in 2007 because he believed power should move from the South to the North.
He also said Tinubu supported former presidential candidate Nuhu Ribadu in 2011 and backed former President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 and 2019 elections.
According to Yilwatda, Tinubu supported Buhari in 2019 by leading a reconciliation committee to bring politicians together behind the former president.
The APC chairman also defended Tinubu’s performance in the North, pointing to road and rail projects, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road and the Kano-Maiduguri road.
He said the government was also working on rail projects linking Kano to Maradi and Kaduna to Kano.
Yilwatda questioned claims by opposition politicians that Tinubu had done little for the North, arguing that the projects showed the government’s efforts to develop the region.
He also criticised opposition promises on fuel prices, arguing that a proposed N500-per-litre fuel discount would cost the government about N20 trillion annually.
He questioned how the government would fund the plan, claiming that a large share of Nigeria’s crude oil production was tied to joint ventures.
Yilwatda further criticised the privatisation of some public assets under previous administrations, citing the Aluminium Smelting Company and steel projects in Ajaokuta and Delta State. He alleged that some of the assets were sold far below their construction costs.
Meanwhile, APC member Dr Princess Aslam Aliyu presented opposition politicians who had joined the ruling party.
Aliyu said she had earlier brought 12 African Democratic Congress (ADC) House of Assembly candidates into the APC. She presented 11 additional House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates from the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the ADC on Friday.
She said the candidates’ details could be verified through the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Aliyu described the defections as a sign of confidence in Tinubu and his administration.
Earlier, APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, denied that the party wanted to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
He said the party was focused on its political activities and organisation.
Basiru also criticised ADC vice-presidential candidate Rotimi Amaechi over his reported comments on the proposed seaport project in Ogun State, defending the project as part of the government’s development plans.
On fuel subsidy, Basiru said the APC-led government would not restore it.
He also defended the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying more than 1.4 million students had benefited from the scheme.
Basiru argued that the N20,000 monthly allowance given to beneficiaries should not be viewed separately from the school fees also covered by the programme.
