By Omeiza Ajayi

The National Working Committee NWC of the All Progressives Congress APC was formally inaugurated on Thursday as the Convention Central Co-ordination Committee CCC presented Certificates of Return to the newly elected party executives in Abuja.

The ceremony, led by the Chairman of the CCC and former Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, marked the official commencement of the mandate for the leadership led by the National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda.

In his remarks, Masari explained that the separate date for the presentation was chosen for convenience following the intense activities of the national convention.

He charged the new leadership to maintain integrity as the party prepares for an upcoming cycle of primary elections across all levels of government.

“We have one Working Committee that has just emerged, and we are immediately confronted with primaries, from the local government level up to the national level. Normally, parties, especially the National Working Committee, will be under intense pressure during primaries. I hope we will be able to resist temptation and do what is right for the benefit of our party and our country,” Masari stated.

The CCC Chairman further expressed confidence in the new team, noting that “we expect to see a renewed, motivated National Working Committee that will do even better than before. If we want our country and party to progress, we must always believe we can do better tomorrow than today.”

Responding after the presentation, the National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, commended the Masari-led committee for delivering what he described as one of the most transparent and “elegant” conventions in Nigeria’s political history.

“This convention will go down in history as one without a single litigation. It was almost as if we were at a carnival rather than a convention. The internal wrangling that used to trail conventions was completely absent,” Yilwatda said.

Outlining his vision for the party, the National Chairman pledged to deepen internal democracy and prioritise stability to ensure the APC remains the “platform of choice” for Nigerians.

“The assurance I give you is that we will deepen democracy. We will uphold democracy within the party and ensure stability. We will continue to expand the party – keep reaching out, keep engaging, keep mobilising – to increase membership across the country. Our responsibility is to strengthen democracy and build confidence in the political process,” he maintained.

Yilwatda added that the NWC is fully prepared to implement the party’s progressive manifesto, stressing that “the National Working Committee has been given the certificate, which is the authority to carry out the mandate entrusted to us. We will ensure that the party’s manifesto is implemented across Nigeria for the benefit of our people.”