'I Am Just A Coordinator, Ganduje APC Still Co-Chairman'

APC Chairman Yilwatda called Ganduje “Co-Chairman,” pledging reliance on his experience.
He revealed President Tinubu asked him to work closely with Ganduje.
Ganduje said their cordial relationship should guide successors and predecessors in Nigerian politics.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, has described his predecessor and former Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, as “Co-Chairman” of the ruling party.

Yilwatda made the remarks in Abuja on Wednesday during a condolence visit by Ganduje over the death of his mother. He said he would depend greatly on the former chairman’s political experience, guidance, and wide network to consolidate and strengthen the APC.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the APC chairman disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had directed him to work closely with his predecessor in managing the party.

“My doors are open, the office is open, the partnership remains open, and the friendship remains open. His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has asked me to work with you. I told him I would regard you still as a Chairman in partnership with me. You are still the Co-Chairman of the party. I am only a coordinator. My duty is simply to coordinate the membership of this party. But the party belongs to all of us,” Yilwatda said.

He added that Ganduje’s long political career, dating back to the days of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), positioned him as a valuable source of counsel.

“At that time, I was only in primary school. I recall seeing Governor Rimi visit Solomon Lar in Jos in the 70s and 80s. One day, he came to commission a project at my school. I was just in Form 2, waving at them with my classmates. I never knew what politics truly meant. By then, people like you had already mastered the ropes of politics. So I need your experience, your guidance. I will depend heavily on your experience, your connections, and your contacts to ensure we solidify this party and build it together, so that we can win more elections,” he stated.

In his response, Ganduje commended Yilwatda for his open-handed approach and said their cordial relationship should serve as a model for resolving the frequent friction between political predecessors and successors in Nigeria.

“One important thing is that the problem between the successor and his predecessor, which is one of the issues that the APC has solved. Since 1999, the problem between former governors and their successors has always been an issue in many states. Not only in governorship, but in other political positions too.

“So our relationship is the beginning of solving that kind of problem, not only in the APC but in the wider atmosphere of democracy. I have to congratulate you for this new appointment,” Ganduje said.