The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nantewe Yilwatda, has asked party members and groups planning to purchase the 2027 presidential nomination forms for President Bola Tinubu to re-contest to shelve the idea, adding that it has already been purchased.
Professor Yilwatda made this revelation on Monday at the national secretariat of the party in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
The National Chairman said that a group of youths from Kogi State had already paid N100 million for the purchase of the form for Tinubu in advance.
Yilwatda spoke to newsmen after Governor Ahmed Ododo of Kogi State visited him alongside some youths from the state to present a N100 million Zenith Bank cheque for the forms to him.
He said: “With this payment, I want to announce that nobody should bother to bring money to buy forms for President Tinubu again because the forms have been procured in advance.
“I want to thank the Kogi youths for this procurement and act of patriotism.”
Yilwatda applauded the youths, saying they represented a total departure from the past culture where youths were hangers-on, noting that they took leadership initiative for a better future.
He said the action of the youth was informed by the people-oriented programmes and policies of the Tinubu-led administration since he assumed office in 2023.
“Today is one of the happiest moments in this party because we are seeing young men, youths from the state, taking decisive action,” he said.
According to Yilwatda, Kogi State youths are not asking what the government or President Tinubu will do for them, but are asking what they can do to support him.
This, he said, was because they knew he would do much more for their people and Nigerians in general if he was re-elected as president in 2027.
The APC national chairman said the youths had given valid reasons why they wanted Tinubu to be re-elected.
He said: “They said the economy has improved and all indices are looking green and positive and that President Tinubu is tackling security in their state along with the State Governor and has given them political appointments.
“They also said the State Governor has done excellently well in terms of infrastructure and has connected roads and empowered the youths.
“To me, this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that youths are coming forward.”
Yilwatda said the action of the youths was unique, describing them as torchlight and a pillar and an example to other youths in the country.
“We are proud, and I’m also proud that these youths are members of our party,” he said.
The Kogi State governor in his remark said the youth in the state were appreciative of the recognition that President Tinubu had accorded Nigerian youths.
Ododo said: “In the history of this country, no president has ever given the youth as much space as President Tinubu, of which I am a beneficiary.”
