The recent appointment of Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, former Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and ex-Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has continue to stire a national conversation, not just about party politics, but about the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
Yilwatda’s emergence from the APC’s National Executive Committee meeting held on July 24 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja has reignited questions surrounding the thin line between electoral neutrality and political affiliation.
Although Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda previously served as REC in Benue State between 2017 and 2021, his transition into partisan politics, as APC governorship candidate in Plateau State and as a campaign coordinator for the Tinubu/Shettima ticket, will not stop to cause raised eyebrows.
Opposition parties, civil society groups, and political commentators fear that his rise to party leadership barely three years after serving as a top official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could erode public trust in the electoral body.
“This is more than an APC matter,” said Peter Ameh, National Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), in a recent interview.
Ameh added that the development “reflects a dangerous overlap between electoral administration and partisan interest. It is not just about one man; it’s about institutional credibility.”
However, the ruling party has dismissed the opposition’s concerns as politically motivated. APC Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, defended the new chairman, stating that prior service in INEC does not amount to a conflict of interest.
“He is not coming with any access to INEC facilities. Are we saying a retired police officer cannot take up private security work?”
Beyond the political exchanges, Comrade Dioboikiabor Warmate, the apex leader of the Concerned People Democratic Party League, CPDPL ” struck a more institutional tone, by redirecting the focus away from the popular opinion of many opposition leaders.
According to Comrade Warmate, “the appointment of the former REC of INEC as the APC national chairman does not give the ruling party an advantage in anyway, due to the fact that all humans irrespective of their their present position has a past”
He continued his line of thought by saying “every politician has their past, some of them seating today at the national assembly are former police officers, some military generals, some retired civil servants”.
Warmate added that there’s no need for controversies over the past of the newly appointed Chairman of APC, rather the focus should be on INEC as an institution to submit a bill to the National Assembly to amend the 2022 electoral Act to ensure that it is compulsory for electronic transmission of results, as that would be the credibility test for 2027 and not the affiliation of Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda as a person.
This line of thought was also supported by the Young Progressives Party (YPP), through the National Publicity Secretary, Wale Egbeola-Martins, who urged Nigerians to focus on the long-overdue electoral reforms rather than individual appointments.
In his words , “The system must be stronger than any one person. If our electoral laws are airtight, fears of manipulations, either real or imagined, would be minimal.”
Yilwatda’s background includes a lecturing stint in engineering at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, and election supervision in several states including Anambra, Rivers, and Osun.
Despite losing his bid for Plateau State governor at the Supreme Court, he remains a key player in the APC’s national strategy heading into the 2027 general elections.
While the ruling party celebrates Yilwatda’s wealth of experience, critics view his appointment as a political signal, one that could define the tone, structure, and credibility of Nigeria’s next electoral cycle.
The debate continues, but one thing is clear: Yilwatda’s elevation has made electoral integrity not just a legal question, but a political flashpoint.