Yilwatda spoke on Monday while receiving members of the APC
press corps who paid him a condolence visit following the death of his mother.

He also used the occasion to reflect on the APC’s
performance in last Saturday’s bye-elections across the country.

“We are learning from their criticism. Every criticism they
give helps us to a better victory. So we are very sure that our party will
succeed in no small measure,” he said.

The APC chairman said the outcome of the bye-elections was
proof of the party’s strength across all regions.

“If you look at it, where the opposition leaders are, we
defeated them in all those locations—from Kaduna to Kano to Adamawa to Taraba,”
he said.

“So, we just made it clear that our party is a leading
party.”

He said the APC is not only the ruling party but also the
preferred political option for Nigerians.

“We are also not just a ruling party, but we are the leading
party and the preferred party in Nigeria. And preferred by Nigerians,” he said.

“Because if you have 75 percent acceptance by the people
across the country, our success is not just in the north but also in the
south.”

Yilwatda listed zones where he said the APC had “clear
victories”, including the south-south, south-west, north-west, north-east, and
north-central.

“It tells you that in Nigeria APC is the most accepted party
across the country. And that’s the same thing we’ve made in Nigeria. So, expect
that 2027 is going to be the same thing,” he said.

He dismissed media criticism of the party and the federal
government, noting that the APC is focused on reaching people at the
grassroots.

“So, forget the rhetoric on TV and television. We are not
addressing television. We are addressing the people at the grassroots,” he
said.

Yilwatda said the APC’s progressive policies are aimed at
lifting the country’s poorest citizens.

“Our policies are progressive in nature. So, we don’t
address the bourgeois. We don’t address the rich,” he said.

“We address the poorest of the poor. And that’s what our
policies are.”

He said those who are voting for the APC are not elites but
everyday Nigerians who want bold change.

“Our target is to ensure that Nigerians, not people on TV,
but Nigerians who believe in us, who have confidence in the party, who like
progressive policies of the government, who like the bold step taken by the
government to ensure that we make changes and bring policies that are creating
the real changes that have never been seen before in this country,” he said.

“That belief is what people are making. People are voting
for the party, and believe me, 2027 is a near-sure victory for us as a party.”

On Saturday, President Bola Tinubu commended APC members for
their “confidence” in the party at the just-concluded by-elections across the
country.

The president also praised Yilwatda for the party’s
“emphatic first victory recorded under his leadership.”