The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has assured Nigerians that politicians defecting to the ruling party will not be shielded from investigation or prosecution, insisting that membership of the party does not confer immunity from the law.
Yilwatda, who gave the assurance during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today anchored by Seun Okinbaloye, dismissed allegations that politicians facing legal challenges could secure protection by joining the APC.
“Nobody is protected,” the APC chairman declared, challenging those making the allegations to provide evidence that the party had shielded any of its members from prosecution.
Asked whether the growing wave of defections to the ruling party reflected public endorsement of President Bola Tinubu’s policies or politicians’ calculations about where their political interests would be better protected.
He said that joining the party did not automatically confer protection on anyone facing legal scrutiny, arguing that the legal process must be allowed to run its course.
He further argued that members of the APC continued to appear in court over cases against them, challenging the suggestion that party membership automatically insulated politicians from legal consequences.
“I know members of our party who are undergoing prosecution, who appear in court every day. And you mean to tell me that they are less members of the APC?” he asked.
The APC chairman also invoked the presumption of innocence, stating that anyone who had not been convicted was presumed innocent under the law.
“Nobody is protected,” he reiterated.
On the party’s internal disputes, Yilwatda said the APC has established committees to engage aggrieved stakeholders and resolve disagreements, arguing that political parties with large memberships could not be expected to operate without friction.
He said the party had assessed the risks associated with the disagreements and adopted a structured approach to reconciliation.
The chairman maintained that disagreements within the party should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of a breakdown in its internal structures, insisting that the APC was working to manage competing interests ahead of future elections.