Nentawe Yilwatda, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has asserted that President Bola Tinubu maintains a hands-off approach regarding the party's administration, refuting claims of presidential interference in its internal processes.
During a media engagement on Wednesday, Mr. Yilwatda highlighted that President Tinubu encourages the party's structures to function autonomously while promoting consultation and a commitment to internal democracy.
He elaborated that while the President might be consulted on specific matters, he refrains from imposing decisions. Instead, Mr. Tinubu engages with stakeholders, including the National Working Committee (NWC), empowering them to address issues at both state and national levels.
According to Mr. Yilwatda, the absence of discord between APC governors and the President serves as tangible evidence that no undue imposition is occurring. He suggested that such interference would inevitably lead to internal conflicts within the party.
“You don’t hear APC governors having conflict with the president…if he’s imposing his view on all that governors are doing, all that the party is doing, we would have had a lot of internal crisis. We’re having this smooth transition, smooth party management, internal party democracy because of what he’s doing,” he stated.
The APC chairman further commented that the President champions internal democracy by advocating for transparent processes, such as conducting fair congresses where party members can freely select their candidates.
National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, also spoke in defence of the party's decision-making mechanisms, characterizing them as collective and consensus-driven.
Mr. Basiru emphasized that the party's most significant decisions are made by its highest governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), rather than by any single individual.
He added that the APC's inclusive approach to governance reflects a dedication to democratic principles and broad participation.
“Actually, the highest expression of democratic decision is consensus… So as far as we are concerned, pursuing consensus is the highest form of democratic administration that everybody is in the basket,” Mr. Basiru remarked.
He argued that if the President were dictating party affairs from the Presidential Villa, the NEC would not convene for deliberations and the adoption of guiding resolutions for the party.
“Our political party, you can check in the past two and a half years, we have had decisions at the meeting of the highest decision-making body, NEC, at least three or four times.
“So if a person is sitting down in the confines of Aso Villa to determine for the party, he will not call eminent personalities composed of our NEC to come and make decisions, pass resolutions and give guidance as we go forward for our party,” he concluded.
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