2027 election security must begin before campaign posters – APC chairman Yilwatda

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, has called for early preparations to safeguard the security and integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.

Yilwatda made the call on Tuesday while speaking after receiving the Blueprint Newspapers Person of the Year award at the 8th edition of the Blueprint Newspapers Public Lecture, Impact Series and Awards Ceremony held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja.

The event was themed, “Security Challenges and the Integrity of Nigeria’s 2027 Elections.”

Yilwatda calls for early preparation

Yilwatda said preparations for the 2027 elections should begin before political campaigns and campaign posters dominate the public space.

He identified intelligence gathering, conflict mapping, effective policing, secure borders, responsible political speech, trusted institutions, transparent electoral technology and prosecution of offenders as key areas requiring attention.

According to him, threat assessments should cover banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, communal conflicts, disinformation, cyber intrusion, vote buying and the recruitment of young people for political violence.

‘Security and electoral integrity are supporting pillars’

The APC chairman said security and electoral integrity were inseparable components of a functional democracy.

“Security and electoral integrity are not separate rooms in the house of democracy. They are supporting pillars of the same structure,” he said.

Yilwatda warned that when insecurity prevents citizens from voting or violence determines access to polling units, the democratic process is weakened.

He added that the interference of armed groups, political enforcers or criminal networks in electoral choices would undermine the authority of the ballot.

Yilwatda speaks on roles of security agencies

The APC national chairman stressed that security responses to electoral threats must be coordinated while remaining constitutional, firm and impartial.

He said security personnel must remember that their allegiance was to the Constitution and not to individual candidates.

Yilwatda also said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could not carry the responsibility of securing the electoral process alone.

He identified security agencies, political parties, the judiciary, media, civil society, traditional institutions, technology companies and citizens as stakeholders with important roles to play.

APC chairman urges political actors to reject violence

Yilwatda urged political actors to recognise that electoral victory achieved through violence could not have democratic legitimacy.

He called on political parties and candidates to promote responsible political speech, while urging citizens to reject vote buying, ethnic incitement and manufactured hatred.

He also tasked the media with resisting misinformation and sensationalism in the build-up to the 2027 elections.

Yilwatda receives Blueprint Person of the Year award

Yilwatda described his selection as Blueprint Newspapers’ Person of the Year as an honour whose significance went beyond him as an individual.

He said he accepted the recognition with humility and acknowledged the contributions of institutions, colleagues and others to whatever achievements had been recorded.

“I accept it with humility, conscious that no enduring achievement is the product of one pair of hands, one office, one party, one institution or one season,” he said.

Yilwatda also spoke on behalf of the other 23 individuals and organisations honoured at the ceremony, saying the recipients represented different areas of leadership, enterprise, public administration, security, humanitarian service, economic management, institutional reform and national development.

‘Award must be a summons to greater duty’

The APC chairman said awards should not be regarded as the conclusion of past achievements but as motivation for greater service.

“An award should never become a decorative conclusion to yesterday’s work. It must be a summons to greater duty tomorrow,” he said.

He said the recipients should regard the recognition as an instrument of accountability and a reminder that achievement creates obligation.

Yilwatda urges Nigerians not to surrender to despair

Yilwatda called on Nigerians, particularly young people, not to lose hope in the country despite its challenges.

He said Nigeria’s difficulties could be overcome through disciplined leadership, responsible citizenship and collective resolve.

“I dedicate this Person of the Year Award to every Nigerian who believes that leadership is service, democracy is a sacred trust and national unity is a duty requiring daily effort,” he said.