Nentawe Yilwatda says millions of vulnerable Nigerians who received the Federal Government’s N75,000 cash transfer cannot participate in public debates, while defending fuel subsidy removal ahead of 2027.

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has said more than 10 million vulnerable Nigerians who received the Federal Government’s N75,000 conditional cash transfer have no access to mobile phones, television or social media.

Yilwatda made the disclosure on Saturday while speaking with journalists after a three-day retreat of the APC National Executive Council in Maiduguri, Borno State.

According to him, the beneficiaries are largely poor and vulnerable Nigerians who remain outside the country’s increasingly digital public conversation and therefore have limited opportunities to publicly question or debate government policies.

“We have given N75,000 to over 10 million Nigerians across the country using the conditional cash transfer under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction,” Yilwatda said.

“Mind you, these people who are poor and vulnerable don’t have telephones to make calls; they are not on social media. They don’t have a television. They cannot come and challenge and discuss as we are doing here, but they are out there.”

Yilwatda Defends Fuel Subsidy Removal

The APC chairman also defended President Bola Tinubu’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, while taking aim at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), over his position on the policy.

Yilwatda argued that subsidy removal had strengthened the ability of state governments to meet their salary and pension obligations.

“Over 30 states could not pay salaries and pensions. After we removed subsidies, all states can pay salaries and pensions, and no state is left behind,” he said.

He questioned what he described as the consequences of returning to the subsidy regime.

“Today, if you return it, you are saying states shouldn’t pay salaries again. And what suffering are you bringing to Nigeria?” he asked.

Says Subsidy Reversal Could Affect Projects

Yilwatda further warned that restoring the petrol subsidy could affect government programmes and major infrastructure projects being implemented by the Tinubu administration.

He specifically mentioned the student loan scheme, the coastal road project and the planned gas pipeline linking the South to northern Nigeria.

“The projects we’re doing across the country… which are aimed at easing the suffering of Nigerians, will be suspended,” he said.

The APC chairman accused Atiku of seeking to reverse what he described as the gains of the Tinubu administration in his bid for the presidency.

Yilwatda maintained that the APC and Nigerians would not accept what he portrayed as a return to the previous subsidy regime.

APC Reviews Structures Ahead of 2027

On the outcome of the party’s three-day retreat, Yilwatda said the APC National Executive Council reviewed the party’s structures from the national level down to polling units.

He said the review showed that the ruling party remained strong and prepared for the 2027 general elections.

The NEC also passed a vote of confidence in President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and other APC candidates who emerged from the party’s primary elections.

The chairman said the party would continue to strengthen its structures and consolidate its political base ahead of the 2027 elections.