The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, has been unanimously elected as the new National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). His emergence followed a decision by the party’s National Executive Committee on Thursday, filling the vacancy left by Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who resigned to attend to undisclosed personal matters.
Professor Yilwatda brings to the position a wealth of experience from academia, public service, and digital governance. Born on August 8, 1968, in Dungung, Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State, he is an accomplished academic and a former Resident Electoral Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
A professor of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Yilwatda earned his degrees from the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He served for over two decades at his alma mater, where he was the pioneer Director of ICT, spearheading institutional reforms that garnered national recognition.
Outside the academic sphere, he has consulted for international organizations including the EU, UNICEF, the World Bank, and TECHVILE USA, contributing to Nigeria’s digital transformation and policy development.
At INEC, he was instrumental in advancing electoral reforms for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and People Living with Disabilities (PWDs), as well as strengthening the integration of technology into Nigeria’s voting systems. In 2021, he resigned to pursue elective office, contesting as the APC’s gubernatorial candidate in Plateau State and coordinating the Tinubu/Shettima campaign in the state during the 2023 general elections.
Currently serving as a minister and member of the Presidential Economic Management Team, Yilwatda also chairs the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development.
His election as APC chairman is widely seen as a strategic move to harness his governance acumen, technological expertise, and reform-minded leadership in steering the party forward.
