2027: Resign if you can’t campaign for us, APC tells Tinubu’s ‘technocrats’

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has told political appointees serving under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to either actively work for the party’s success ahead of the 2027 general election or resign from their positions, saying there is no room for officials who claim to be technocrats without political responsibilities.

The party’s National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, issued the warning on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving members of the Progressive Local Government Chairmen’s Forum. The delegation, led by the Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State, Dr Mustafa Jibrin, updated him on the forum’s grassroots mobilisation strategy for the 2027 polls.

Yilwatda said local government chairmen were in a better position than officials in Abuja to assess whether political appointees were contributing to the party’s political strength in their respective communities, irrespective of their administrative performance.

“It is you who will tell me that this commissioner is not working. Maybe he is working in the office, but politically he is zero in his ward. It is you who know whether this director general may be working in the office, but politically he is zero back home,” he said.

The APC chairman stressed that every political appointee remained a politician by virtue of holding public office through political appointment and could not separate themselves from partisan activities by claiming to be technocrats.

“We call them political appointees. There is a word ‘political’ there. They are not just technocrats. They are political appointees. You can’t be holding a political position and then say you are not a politician. I have been hearing some people saying that, ‘I am not a politician,’ but they are holding political appointments. It is like somebody who has Yoruba or Kanuri tribal marks telling you that he is not a Yoruba or Kanuri man. It cannot happen,” he said.

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He maintained that anyone unwilling to engage in politics should reject political appointments, noting that the party’s electoral success depended on effective mobilisation rather than officials who viewed themselves solely as administrators.

“If you don’t want to be a politician, don’t take a political appointment. We work to mobilise votes. Without the votes, you can’t be in office. That is why we need you to work with these people. Tell them they are not doing well. Tell them where we need to work harder. Tell them where we have leakages so that we can win the election,” he said.

Yilwatda also assured the forum of the APC’s support for its planned mobilisation programmes, including the inauguration of state coordinators and a large-scale endorsement rally for President Tinubu in Abuja.

“We will support you. We will stand by you. We will ensure that we have a strong partnership that will give this party a strong victory in 2027,” he said.

He added that the party leadership would take part in mobilisation activities organised by the forum without waiting for official invitations, saying there was no reason to delay participation in efforts aimed at strengthening the APC.