Speaking during an interview on Arise News on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Yilwatda dismissed concerns over the nearly 11 million votes recorded for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the APC presidential primary.
The APC chairman explained that the party had approximately 12.9 million registered members across the country, out of which about 10.9 million participated in the primary election.
“So we had about 12.9 million registered members and about 10.9 million voted, which means about 2 million people did not vote across the country — a very reasonable number. And this took place at ward level,” he said.
Yilwatda argued that the figures were credible because the voting process was decentralised and conducted at ward level nationwide, rather than at state capitals or centralised venues.
He further maintained that the APC remained Nigeria’s most organised political party, noting that its membership database was integrated with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which he said helped verify party membership records.
The APC chairman’s comments came in response to widespread criticism trailing the party’s primaries, particularly after videos circulated online showing allegedly irregular counting procedures in some states.
Critics and opposition figures had questioned how President Tinubu secured over 10 million votes in an internal party exercise, especially as the figure exceeded the total votes he polled during the 2023 presidential election.
However, Yilwatda dismissed the viral videos as misleading, insisting that the official figures submitted by the party were accurate and backed by verifiable ward-level data.
The APC primary has continued to generate debate across the political landscape, with some party members and opposition figures raising concerns over transparency, candidate imposition, and the credibility of the exercise ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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