The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, on Tuesday declared that the 2027 general elections would be “a referendum on reform and courage,” urging party leaders and members to close ranks, enforce discipline and project ideological clarity as the ruling party prepares for another electoral contest.

Delivering his opening remarks at the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) Renewed Hope Ambassadors Summit 2026, Yilwatda stressed that the APC must operate as “one party” with a unified voice, warning against contradictory narratives, internal sabotage and what he described as freelance communication.

The summit, themed “Taking Renewed Hope to the Grassroots: One Party, One Message, One Mobilization Framework,” brought together Renewed Hope Ambassadors from the 36 states and the FCT, zonal coordinators, and members of the Federal Executive Council.

“The All Progressives Congress is not a coalition of convenience. It is a movement of progress. But movements survive on discipline,” he said.

Explaining what he meant by “One Party,” the chairman said: “No contradictory narratives. No internal sabotage. No freelance communication. When the President speaks, governors must echo. When governors deliver, ambassadors must amplify. When the party decides, members must defend. Unity is not optional. Unity is strategic power.”

Yilwatda’s remarks set the tone for the summit, which brought together President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, governors elected on the APC platform, members of the National Working Committee, federal cabinet members and leaders of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors across the country.

He framed the gathering as both a governance communication exercise and a political mobilisation strategy ahead of 2027.

“This summit serves two purposes: to strengthen governance communication under the Renewed Hope Agenda and to lay the structural foundation for a decisive and historic victory in 2027,” he said.

According to him, governance and electoral success are intertwined.

“Good governance without communication is invisible. Communication without structure is noise. And politics without grassroots mobilization is an organised defeat,” he declared.

The APC chairman argued that the opposition was banking on the temporary discomfort occasioned by ongoing reforms to weaken the ruling party, but insisted that history favours conviction over hesitation.

“The opposition hopes that difficult reforms will weaken us. They wait for temporary discomfort to erase long-term transformation. They whisper confusion where we speak clarity.

“But we are the party of courage. Under President Tinubu, we have chosen reform over rhetoric. We have chosen restructuring over recycling failure. We have chosen bold economic reform over cosmetic populism”, he said.

Drawing a sharp contrast with opposition parties, Yilwatda accused them of offering criticism without alternatives.

“While we reform, they complain. While we build, they broadcast despair. While we structure, they speculate. They offer criticism without alternatives. We offer solutions with courage,” he said.

He maintained that the 2027 election would present Nigerians with a clear choice.

“In 2027, Nigerians will choose between noise and nation-building, populism and progress, confusion and Renewed Hope. And I have no doubt what they will choose,” he added.

Describing the next general election as a referendum, he said: “A referendum on reform. A referendum on courage. A referendum on whether Nigeria continues forward or retreats backward.”

Yilwatda, however, warned that victory would not come automatically.

“If we communicate effectively, if we mobilize strategically, if we remain united, victory will not be accidental. It will be inevitable,” he said.

He charged APC governors to “lead with performance and communicate with precision,” while urging the Renewed Hope Ambassadors to carry the party’s message “to the last mile.”

To party leaders, he said: “Guard our unity jealously.” And to members nationwide, he declared: “You are not just a supporter. You are a messenger of national transformation.”

In his concluding remarks, the APC chairman described the summit as a defining moment in the party’s history.

“History has placed us at a defining moment. We can either manage success casually, or we can organize it strategically. We can either assume victory, or we can engineer it deliberately,” he said.

He called for what he termed a “disciplined, data-driven, grassroots-powered movement” that would secure not just electoral success but what he described as generational dominance.

“Let it be said that in 2026, at this Strategic Summit, the APC chose structure over sentiment, clarity over confusion, unity over division and victory over doubt,” he declared.

With party leaders applauding, Yilwatda concluded on a confident note: “Together, we are unstoppable. Together, our message is unbreakable. Together, our mobilization is unbeatable.

“And in 2027, when Nigerians return to the ballot, they will not just vote for a party. They will vote for stability. They will vote for courage. They will vote for Renewed Hope”, he said. (The Nation)

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