President Bola Tinubu has called on governors elected under the All Progressives Congress (APC) to shift focus towards grassroots mobilization and meaningful community presence, stressing that “Nigerians are still complaining at the grassroots.”
The President issued the charge at the APC’s 14th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Thursday, where Professor Nentawe Yilwatda was unanimously adopted as the new National Chairman of the party.
While the emergence of Yilwatda marked a new chapter in the party’s leadership, the President used the platform to push for what he described as a return to the people, urging governors to strengthen their bond with citizens in local communities across the country.
“To you, the governors, you must wet the grass more and deliver progressive change to Nigerians,” Tinubu said. “May God bless our democracy and grant us more fertile lands.”
In a speech that was both a directive and a vision, Tinubu proposed the creation of a new national APC secretariat in the Federal Capital Territory — a symbolic step toward party consolidation and administrative strength.
“We should leave a legacy of development,” he told the gathering of party leaders. “The governors are here—23 of them—to help identify a land, along with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. We should establish a committee of progressive governors to identify suitable land and construct the secretariat.”
While pledging to continue working towards food sovereignty, Tinubu also reaffirmed APC’s readiness to accommodate new members. “Our doors are still open, and we should wholeheartedly embrace those who join us,” he said, while dismissing opposition parties as “a coalition of confusion.”
The newly elected Chairman, Prof. Yilwatda, in his acceptance speech, promised to take the party “to the next level,” pledging unity, growth, and internal reform. “We are all mechanics of this vehicle—the APC—and together, we will fix it and drive it to our destination,” he declared.
Being a respected academic and former governorship candidate in Plateau State, Yilwatda said he would relinquish his current post as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction to fully commit to his new responsibility.
Party insiders see Tinubu’s message to governors as a signal of renewed expectations: that state executives must not only govern effectively but must also become active ambassadors of the APC’s renewed hope agenda in their wards, councils, and communities.
The President also used the occasion to highlight improved government revenue and security progress. He cited a record N14.9 trillion in revenue generated by the Federal Inland Revenue Service in just six months — a 43 percent increase over the previous year — and said thousands of terrorists and bandits had been neutralised.
“It is not easy to navigate the stormy waters of economic instability. Now, the economy is stabilised… there is no fear for the country except for continued upward movement and sustained growth,” he said.
A minute of silence was observed in honour of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, and at Tinubu’s request, the meeting also paid tribute to the late Alhaji Aminu Dantata and Oba Sikiru Adetona, the Awujale of Ijebuland, whom he described as national figures whose impact transcended party lines.
