The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, is facing what party insiders are describing as his first major baptism of fire, as internal discontent within the ruling party spills into the open.

A powerful youth faction within the party, operating under the aegis of the APC Youth Solidarity Network (APC-YSN), has issued a two-week ultimatum to Yilwatda to resign or face mass protests across the country.

In a strongly worded statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Danesi Momoh Prince, the group accused the national chairman of poor leadership, hypocrisy, and presiding over the steady decline of the APC?s popularity nationwide.

?Under Nentawe?s leadership, the APC?s popularity continues to wane daily, making President Bola Ahmed Tinubu?s re-election bid more difficult,? the group declared.

The youth group particularly faulted Yilwatda over his alleged handling of reports about Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang?s purported plan to defect from the PDP to the APC, accusing him of double standards.

?If the defection of governors makes the party more popular, why is Nentawe preventing his own governor from joining the APC?? the statement queried.

The group further described the chairman?s reported comments that Governor Mutfwang ?lacks political value? as reckless and uninformed, stressing that every sitting governor commands influence in his state.

?For the national chairman of a ruling party to think otherwise shows a poor understanding of Nigeria?s political terrain. He remains a political neophyte unfit for the enormous responsibility of leading the APC,? the group asserted.

The youth faction also alleged that since Yilwatda assumed office, the National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Ajibola Bashiru, has effectively been running the party?s affairs, a situation they said underscores the internal dysfunction of the current leadership. They cited the mismanaged Ekiti governorship primary election as a glaring example of what they called ?leadership failure and confusion at the top.?

The statement went further to accuse Yilwatda of neglecting APC staff, especially junior employees, who it claimed are preparing to protest over poor welfare and unpaid allowances.

?He lacks charisma, capacity, and the clout to command respect among party members. He has become an ?oh-yes? chairman without direction,? the youth group fumed.

Party watchers say this growing internal revolt, coming just months after Yilwatda?s emergence as chairman, marks a defining moment in his leadership ? a baptism of fire that will test his political survival instincts and his ability to hold together a ruling party already strained by regional rivalries and succession battles ahead of 2027.

?This is his first real test. If he can?t douse this fire from within, his tenure may not survive the next convention cycle,? one source said.

The ultimatum, combined with simmering internal rifts over appointments, defections, and grassroots mobilization, suggests that the APC national secretariat may soon become the next battleground in the ruling party?s struggle for unity and control ahead of the 2027 elections.

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