Nentawe Yilwatda, national chairman of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), has urged youths to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy and resist
attempts by “self-serving” political actors to derail the country’s progress.
In a statement on Tuesday, Abimbola Tooki, Yilwatda’s
special adviser on media and information strategy, said the APC chairman spoke
against the backdrop of ongoing national reforms of the current administration.
He said in the past weeks, certain political interests
across the country have been making moves aimed at promoting narrow personal
ambitions and misinforming citizens about the intentions and outcomes of
President Bola Tinubu’s reforms.
Yilwatda, who described youths as the critical force for
sustaining the country’s present and future stability, urged them to rise to
the challenge by taking ownership of the country’s democratic process and
rejecting all personal ambitions.
“Nigeria’s democracy is at a defining moment. The
responsibility to defend and consolidate it rests heavily on our youths, who
possess the energy, innovation, and patriotic zeal required to move the nation
forward,” Tooki quoted Yilwatda as saying.
“We must not allow individuals who offer no credible
alternatives to past challenges to mislead the people or truncate the gains
already being recorded.”
The APC chairman said the party has proven to be a truly
youth-driven political movement, with over 50 percent of its membership
comprising young men and women.
“This demographic strength reflects the party’s deliberate
commitment to inclusion, generational renewal, and the empowerment of emerging
leaders as key drivers of Nigeria’s democratic future,” the statement reads.
Yilwatda noted that the youthful dominance within the APC
structure positions the party as a forward-looking institution, well aligned
with Nigeria’s demographic realities and better equipped to harness the energy,
innovation, and resilience of its people for national progress.
He warned that entrusting Nigeria’s future to desperate
elements, who are hell bent on becoming president at all cost, would be a
costly mistake, “reversing hard-earned progress and returning the country to
periods of uncertainty and stagnation”.
The APC chairman admitted “that the reforms of the current
administration have come with difficult adjustments”, but noted that these
measures are necessary foundations for long-term prosperity.
According to him, early indicators show the reforms are
already repositioning Nigeria for sustainable growth, fiscal stability, and
global competitiveness.
Yilwatda added that recent policy shifts, particularly in
foreign exchange management, subsidy reforms, and investment liberalisation,
have made Nigeria a more attractive destination for local and foreign capital.
“Investor confidence is gradually being restored. From
renewed commitments in the oil and gas sector to growing interest in Nigeria’s
digital economy and infrastructure space, the signs are clear that the country
is on a path to recovery and growth,” he said.
By
TheTimes Nigeria
