By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, says opposition parties are fishing defectors from the same pond.
Prof. Yilwatda stated this on Wednesday, May 6, in Abuja during an on-the-spot assessment at Treasure Hotel, the venue for the submission of the expression of interest and nomination forms by aspirants under the party’s platform.
He reiterated the party’s commitment to internal democracy, noting that its open contest system and surge in form sales is a reflection of the party’s strength and growing popularity.
Yilwatda said, “As you can see, this place is a beehive of activities, and it shows the acceptance of our party across the country. All the political zones are busy. People are here, going in and out in their numbers, in their droves, trying to submit their forms. And we’re happy that we’re piloting a party that is accepted by people from the grassroots.
“Nigerians are happy with what the APC is doing. They love the party, they accept the party, and the party cuts across all the geopolitical zones of Nigeria. We’re also happy that our party is widely accepted by people.
“You can see the people coming in to buy our forms and how organised all the sections are. The party is too organised for what we are seeing. You can’t see this level of organisation, logistics, and preparation in any party in Nigeria; this can only be the APC. And we’re happy that we’re seeing it happening under our party administration.
“We extended the days for people to collect forms, yet you are still seeing that crowd coming in. If you leave the sale of forms for APC for the next month, Nigerians will still come and buy the forms of APC.”
The APC chairman also ruled out any further extension of the party’s form sales, adding that adequate crowd control measures have been put in place ahead of the screening scheduled to begin on Friday.
He added, “For the screening, we have also put measures in place so that we can reduce the crowd and ensure that it is seamless. While it is good to have a crowd around the party to show presence, dominance, and mobilisation, this in itself is mobilisation. Just imagine the thousands of people coming in here every day—it shows acceptance.
“If any Nigerian sees these numbers and compares them with other party secretariats, you won’t see one-tenth of this number anywhere else.
“It shows the level of preparation of our aspirants. It means they are deep-rooted and acceptable to society. Our aspirants are also in large numbers, and when you aggregate these numbers, you can be sure that APC will win most of the seats in this country.”
Yilwatda cited the recent crisis within opposition parties, saying they do not stand a chance against the ruling party.
He said, “We are not belittling the opposition, but check what they are doing. Just yesterday, I listened to the fight between opposition leaders—they are breaking into pieces, and I’m sure they will blame us for their internal crisis.
“They are insulting themselves. Nigerians are seeing that the fight is not APC versus opposition; it is opposition versus opposition.
“One group is calling another corrupt and refusing to be part of it, while another group says some people cannot withstand competition and want free tickets elsewhere.
“But in APC, even with the charges, people are still coming in large numbers to buy forms. We did not increase our fees; we maintained them, yet people are coming in droves.”
He said the party had been opened up for competition, noting that people were freely purchasing forms without restriction, including for the presidential ticket.
Yilwatda added that despite having a sitting President, individuals were still buying forms to contest against him, stressing that the party allowed such open participation.
He said, “We opened up our party. People are not hiding forms—everyone is buying, including the presidential ticket. We have a sitting President, yet people are buying forms to contest against him. We allowed it. We opened our party for competition. Sitting governors are being challenged; senators are being challenged. Even the Senate President and the Speaker are being challenged. The level of democracy in APC is second to none.
“You talked about NDC. When people join APC, they say we paid them to come. But when people defect among themselves, they don’t say anything. None of those defecting is from our party. They are fishing from the same pond.
“If someone defects from ADC to another NDC opposition party, how does that affect APC? It doesn’t. Let them sort out their problems. APC is still solid, still united, and we are moving forward with strong numbers.”
