People Tinubu Helped Before Abandoned Him in 2023 — Yilwatda

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has accused several politicians who previously benefited from President Bola Tinubu’s political support of abandoning him when he declared his ambition to contest the 2023 presidential election.

Yilwatda made the allegation on Friday, October 9, 2026, at the APC national secretariat in Abuja while receiving defectors from opposition parties in Sokoto, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kano and Plateau states.

According to him, Tinubu had supported political figures from different parts of Nigeria over the years, but many withdrew their support when he decided to run for president.

“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,” Yilwatda said.

The APC chairman defended Tinubu’s political record, arguing that his support for candidates from different regions demonstrated a commitment to national unity and power rotation.

He cited Tinubu’s reported support for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in 2007, former presidential candidate Nuhu Ribadu in 2011 and former President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 and 2019 elections.

Yilwatda said Tinubu supported Buhari’s emergence partly because he believed political power should return to the North following the death of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

He also praised Tinubu’s role in political reconciliation, particularly his involvement in efforts to unite opposition groups behind Buhari before the 2015 election.

The APC chairman urged the defectors to support Tinubu’s administration and its Renewed Hope Agenda, describing their decision to join the ruling party as a sign of confidence in the President’s leadership.

He also defended the administration’s infrastructure investments in northern Nigeria, citing road and rail projects, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway and other projects linking northern communities.

Yilwatda questioned criticism of the government’s performance in the region, arguing that the projects demonstrated its commitment to development beyond the southern part of the country.

The meeting also featured the presentation of additional opposition politicians who had joined the APC, as party leaders stepped up efforts to strengthen the ruling party’s structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Yilwatda’s remarks come as political parties intensify mobilisation and recruitment efforts ahead of the next presidential contest.