RismadarVoice Reporters
September 26, 2026
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has said more than 10 million vulnerable Nigerians who benefited from the Federal Government’s ₦75,000 conditional cash transfer programme lack access to mobile phones and social media.
Yilwatda made the claim on Saturday while speaking with journalists after a three-day retreat of the APC National Executive Council in Maiduguri, Borno State.
According to him, many beneficiaries of the programme are poor and vulnerable Nigerians who are largely absent from public discussions about government policies because they lack access to communication platforms.
“We have given ₦75,000 to over 10 million Nigerians across the country using the conditional cash transfer under the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction,” Yilwatda said.
He added that many of the beneficiaries did not have phones, television sets or access to social media and were therefore unable to participate in public conversations about government interventions.
The APC chairman also defended the Tinubu administration’s removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had increased resources available to federal and state governments.
Yilwatda claimed that more than 30 states previously struggled to meet salary and pension obligations but were now better positioned to make such payments following the subsidy removal.
He argued that restoring the subsidy could reduce funds available to states and affect ongoing Federal Government programmes, including infrastructure development and the student loan scheme.
Yilwatda also cited road construction, the coastal highway and gas infrastructure projects as examples of initiatives being funded under the administration.
His remarks came while responding to criticism from former Vice President and African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar over the economic policies of the Tinubu administration.
The APC chairman accused Atiku of seeking to reverse reforms implemented by the government, maintaining that doing so could affect ongoing projects and government finances.
Yilwatda’s assertions about the effects of subsidy removal and the beneficiaries of government programmes represent the APC chairman’s account of the administration’s policies and their impact.
The APC chairman also said the NEC retreat reviewed the party’s activities at national, state, local government, ward and polling-unit levels ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the party concluded that its structures remained strong and prepared for the elections.
He said the NEC also passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and other APC candidates who emerged from the party’s primaries.
Yilwatda added that the party would continue reconciliation efforts within its chapters and intensify efforts to communicate the administration’s policies and programmes to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 elections.
