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• Nigerians should ask what govs are doing with current huge allocations
• Lessons we’ve learnt from Osun guber poll
By Oluseye Ojo
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, was in Oyo State from August 19 to 20, 2026, on a working visit that combined high-level political consultations with engagements on the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.
At an encounter with journalists during the visit, Yilwatda spoke on the economic and political issues shaping Nigeria as the President Bola Tinubu administration enters a crucial phase ahead of the 2027 polls.
He also spoke on other issues.
Prior to the current administration, state governors received significantly lower monthly federal allocations. Today, monthly allocations to the three tiers of government have increased dramatically from billions to trillions of Naira. But what are the impacts of the increased statutory allocations on the average Nigerian on the street?
That is a fundamental question. Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our party has implemented bold economic reforms, ranging from fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification to broad tax policy restructuring.
These measures have channelled vastly higher revenue directly into the coffers of the three tiers of governments. But I can’t tell what the governors are doing, because it’s your duty to go and ask them. While it is the responsibility of citizens and the media to hold state governors accountable for how those trillions are being utilised at the sub-national level, I can speak directly to what President Tinubu is executing at the federal level. At the national scale, we are driving toward a $1trillion economy. Look at our massive infrastructure investments: the monumental coastal highway project is visibly underway across national media.
Furthermore, Nigeria currently lacks functional deep seaports capable of handling modern mega-vessels, forcing importers to incur massive trans-shipment and batching costs from deep-water ports in neighbouring countries like Benin Republic. To eliminate those extra costs for Nigerian businesses and consumers, President Tinubu’s administration is constructing five modern deep seaports integrated with the coastal road network.
On fiscal policy, our tax reforms are specifically designed to reduce the cost of living for everyday citizens. Essential items, such as basic food products, education, healthcare, housing, and construction materials, have been exempted from taxation. Furthermore, low-income earners making ₦800,000 or less per annum are now fully exempt from personal income tax.
So, the tax reform has reduced the cost of living for Nigerians. You don’t get taxed on education. You don’t get taxed on food items. You don’t get taxed on housing. You don’t get taxed on building materials. So, the basic thing that a common man needs to live, we’ll remove tax on them. Small businesses and micro-enterprises with an annual turnover of less than ₦100million no longer pay corporate income tax.
In the past, informal trade workers, market women selling akara, local carpenters, small scale miners, were constantly harassed for taxes. Today, their tax burden is zero.
We are systematically removing fiscal burdens from the most vulnerable segment of the population.
So, when opposition critics claim these policies induce poverty, we ask: How can a government that completely exempts low-income earners, small businesses, food, healthcare, and education from taxes be accused of impoverishing its people?
What we’ve done is that we have freed a lot of people, who are at the lower ebb to ensure they don’t pay tax. So, when people say our party is bringing poverty in the country, we ask them; how do you tell me that a government that has relieved people of tax and has also ensured that the basic things that allow us to live are tax-free, how do you say that, that government is bringing poverty to the people? Well, but that’s the opposition. So, we as a government, we are doing our best.
Finally, consider our federal road infrastructure projects. Look at the on-going works along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and the expansion down to Ilorin. For over two decades, these vital arterial roads received only temporary asphalt patches that degraded every two to three years.
Today, the Tinubu administration is constructing heavy-duty concrete pavements engineered to last for over 100 years. These are verifiable facts on the ground that anyone can inspect.
What is your assessment of the cohesion in APC at this juncture?
Look, we are one big family, and whatever issues exist are purely family matters. It is completely normal for siblings within the same household to experience slight disagreements.
However, these are internal affairs that can easily be resolved within our party structures. We are pleased to note that the party remains stable, resilient, and strong. From our on-going engagements with party leaders and stakeholders, everyone is fully committed to working together to ensure our collective success. So, we are in good shape
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Reflecting on the last Osun State governorship election, what key lessons has the APC drawn from the outcome?
For us, the Osun State election was by no means a failure; it was actually a very commendable showing for our party. Despite the incumbent state government deploying the full weight of its apparatus, including local government chairmen and executive appointees, the APC put up a formidable fight. That performance demonstrates the true strength and character of our party.
We prepared thoroughly and remain steadfastly committed to free and fair elections.
You would recall that the election was peaceful, transparent, and completely free of rancour. The APC demonstrated incredible political maturity, effectively debunking the pre-election narrative spun by the opposition, who had alleged that state machinery and security agencies would be used against them.
Yet, immediately following the election, those same opposition figures admitted it was one of the finest, freest, and fairest elections ever conducted. All those wild accusations vanished overnight. Just 24 hours prior, they were levelling all sorts of allegations. That turn of events underlines our party’s democratic maturity.
In fact, that same spirit of sportsmanship inspired the opposition candidate to publicly declare his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term vision.
What concrete steps should party members and the public expect regarding aggrieved members who feel dissatisfied with internal processes?
That is precisely why reconciliation mechanisms exist. Reconciliation is an on-going process, not a one-off event. It requires time, patience, and continuous engagement.
We will systematically review our current position, build on the progress made so far, and move forward together as a united house.
Has the APC formally accepted the outcome of the Osun State governorship election?
The primary stakeholder directly involved in the process was the candidate, who contested the election. As a party, the National Working Committee (NWC) has not officially sat down to review the entire election process and adopt a formal position. Taking an official party position is a deliberate process that requires inviting the candidate, examining all reports, and conducting a thorough review of the events in Osun State. Therefore, a definitive party position will be determined in due course.
There have been complaints from some APC members who felt hurt, excluded or aggrieved by the party’s internal processes, especially congresses and primary elections. What is your response to them?
This is not for Oyo State alone. Anywhere anybody made a mistake in a state, it is our mistake because the committee was set up by us and they are representing us.
If anybody is hurt, if anybody is injured, if anybody is prevented or excluded in any form or the other, we take responsibility.
On TV, before Nigerians, we take responsibility of all that had happened. I appeal to everybody that we are sorry.
I want our members at the polling-unit, ward and local government levels across the country to see this as a family matter. Whatever disagreements we have had, whatever has happened, we should forgive one another, reconcile and remain united. This is important because we are preparing for 2027, and we cannot go into that election as a divided house. We must bring everybody together. We must ensure that those who are hurt, those who feel excluded and those who feel injured are brought back into the family.
Oyo State is particularly important to us because of its strategic importance and its large voting population, second only to Lagos.
So, we are paying attention to Oyo State, but this appeal goes beyond Oyo. It is an appeal to our members across the country. Let us forgive one another, reconcile and move forward as one family.
