Political Drama Desk
In the ever-theatrical world of Nigerian politics, where loyalty is a currency and betrayal is the inevitable tax, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has once again proven that in his kingdom, loyalty is applauded — right before you're pushed off the stage.
On July 24, 2025, at the APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja, the ruling party unveiled its latest plot twist: the appointment of Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda as Acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress. A man so politically harmless, birds don’t even bother to perch near him.
The new helmsman, who currently serves as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development (yes, that's one ministry), replaces Ali Bukar Dalori, who had barely warmed the chair after Ganduje’s loyal head was politically guillotined on June 27.
But the real headline? It’s not who was appointed — it’s who was disappointed.
Step forward Senator Tanko Almakura, the man who sold his soul, CPC bloc, and probably his political dry cleaner, to join Tinubu’s APC crusade. He broke ranks with his core Northern allies, defended Ganduje's controversial appointment as if he were defending Mecca itself, and mobilized North Central’s media and muscle to campaign for the return of the chairmanship — all in hopes that his turn had come.
Spoiler alert: It hadn't.
In fact, Tinubu opted for Professor Nentawe, a man whose only claim to political fame is losing an election in Plateau and avoiding headlines. Compared to Almakura — a two-time governor, senator, and the guy who even delivered his successor — Nentawe looks like a rookie intern who accidentally wandered into the strategy room and was handed a title.
For months, Almakura’s boys were all over social media, praising his loyalty, his capacity, his North Central rallying. Some even wrote e-psalms to Tinubu for "doing justice." What they forgot, however, is that strongmen don’t make it far in the Tinubu ecosystem. Ask Ganduje. Ask Osinbajo. Ask Ambode. Tinubu doesn’t build strong men. He builds stairs to climb over them.
Today’s announcement is less about Nentawe’s emergence and more about the burial of another Northern titan who thought the Jagaban shares power. Almakura, much like Ganduje, now joins the elite club of “The Used, The Dumped, and The Dazed.”
Let this be a gentle reminder to other Northern power players still flirting with Tinubu’s dinner invitations — bring a long spoon. And maybe a resignation letter. Just in case.
After all, in Tinubu’s Nigeria, loyalty gets you a pat on the back… before the knife goes in.
The End. Or is it?