The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has expressed confidence in President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, claiming that the party’s internal opinion polls indicate support for the president across several states.
Yilwatda made the assertion during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, where he discussed the ruling party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections and its assessment of opposition parties.
According to the APC chairman, the party has conducted opinion polls and gathered data from different states, which he said suggest that Tinubu is positioned to secure another term in office.
“We have done fact-finding; we are leading. We have done our polls. We have our own polls that give us the real statistics across the states,” Yilwatda said.
When asked whether the polls indicated that Tinubu would win the election, the APC chairman answered in the affirmative.
However, he did not provide detailed polling figures, sample sizes, survey dates or the methodology used to arrive at the party’s conclusions. The claims therefore reflect the APC’s own assessment rather than independently verified evidence of the likely election outcome. <Cite refs={[“turn359280search0″,”turn359280search1”]}/>
Yilwatda also dismissed concerns about the opposition, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), whose presidential candidate is former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), which has Peter Obi as its candidate.
He argued that the ruling party was not intimidated by the opposition’s activities and pointed to their electoral performance ahead of the 2027 general elections as part of his assessment.
The APC chairman further defended Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly the administration’s tax reforms. He argued that the changes had expanded the tax base and increased government revenue, with benefits for lower-income Nigerians.
On electricity, Yilwatda said the administration had enabled state governments to participate more actively in power generation, transmission and distribution.
He acknowledged that Nigerians were experiencing economic difficulties, including higher fuel costs, but described the situation as temporary and expressed confidence in continued public support for the government.
The APC chairman also rejected allegations that party members were shielded from prosecution over corruption and other offences. He maintained that membership of the ruling party did not place anyone above the law, noting that some members were facing legal proceedings.
On preparations for the elections, Yilwatda disclosed that the APC leadership was reviewing the composition of its presidential campaign council ahead of its planned inauguration. He also said the party was adopting measures to address grievances arising from its primary elections.
He welcomed support for Tinubu from groups associated with the Rainbow Coalition led by Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, saying he had no objection to individuals or groups backing the president’s re-election.
The comments come as the APC and opposition parties continue organising their political structures ahead of the 2027 elections.
While Yilwatda expressed confidence in the ruling party’s prospects, the outcome of the election will ultimately be determined by voters, and the chairman’s claims about internal polling have not been independently substantiated by the figures disclosed publicly.
