By David Oluwatosin
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has warned that any attempt to restore the fuel subsidy regime could reduce funds available for infrastructure and development programmes in Northern Nigeria.
Yilwatda made the assertion on Monday in Abuja while receiving former candidates of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) who withdrew from various State Houses of Assembly contests in the North and defected to the ruling APC. Recent reports also identified Yilwatda as the APC’s current national chairman.
The delegation was led by Princess Aslam Aliyu, also known as Gimbiyar Kauran Namoda, while an ADC candidate from Zamfara State, Hon. Mohammed Hassan, spoke on behalf of the defectors.
Yilwatda argued that returning to the subsidy regime would raise questions about how government would continue funding ongoing road construction, gas infrastructure, fertiliser initiatives and other programmes.
“The Hausa radio stations tell us that they will return subsidy. I keep on asking, how are they going to return the subsidy? You mean they will stop all this road construction because they want to return subsidy? Because there will be no money for this construction,” he said.
The APC chairman rejected claims that the Tinubu administration was neglecting Northern Nigeria, pointing to major road projects across the region.
He cited the 400-kilometre Abuja-Kano road and the 500-kilometre Kano-Maiduguri road, saying the two corridors alone account for almost 1,000 kilometres of road construction.
According to him, the Abuja-Kano project was nearing completion, while work on the Kano-Maiduguri corridor was approaching 50 per cent completion.
He also listed the Jos-Akwanga, Kwara-Mokwa, Sokoto-Kebbi, Kano-Daura and Zaria-Illela roads among projects he said were ongoing.
“I can keep on counting all of those roads, so I keep on asking, where is that north they are talking about?” Yilwatda said.
Yilwatda also linked ongoing gas development to fertiliser production and transportation, arguing that the projects could provide benefits for northern farmers and businesses.
He pointed to compressed natural gas (CNG) as another potential benefit, particularly for transportation.
The APC chairman also cited the student loan scheme, saying a significant proportion of its beneficiaries were from Northern Nigeria.
“The beneficiaries of the student loan, most of them are from the north. We have more of them in this part of the country. We should stop it?” he asked.
President Bola Tinubu has previously defended the removal of fuel subsidy, saying it was necessary to address fiscal pressures and redirect resources to other sectors.
Yilwatda further argued that restoring the previous subsidy arrangement could worsen poverty in the region.
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He recalled what he described as the inability of several states to meet salary and gratuity obligations before the current administration.
“Among the about 30 states that could not pay salaries in Nigeria, all the states in the north, none could pay salaries as of 2023. So should we say our state now should go back again? They couldn’t pay salaries, they couldn’t pay gratuities. It will increase poverty again in the north,” he said.
Speaking on the defection, Mohammed Hassan said the former ADC candidates were joining the APC to contribute to national development and support President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“We are not here merely to change the political platform, but to begin a new chapter of service and a great contribution to our people by supporting Baba Tinubu to a Renewed Hope Agenda 2027. We have come to work, we have come to contribute,” Hassan said.
Yilwatda said the defectors had resigned from the ADC at ward level and submitted their resignation letters, describing the move as the first step towards joining the APC.
He urged them to return to their respective wards and register as APC members, while mobilising support at the polling-unit level ahead of the 2027 elections.
The APC chairman said the party would welcome the defectors into its structures and urged them to strengthen their respective polling units.
“On election day, nobody will vote at the local government level. Nobody will vote at the state level. All of us who are national will all go to our own polling units. So strengthen your polling units. Because all elections are won at the polling units,” he said.
