|
Listen to article
|
A diaspora-focused youth organisation operating across West Africa under the banner of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress has formally changed its name from APC Youth Wing West Africa to APC Youth Network West Africa, following a directive from the APC National Secretariat that required the group to drop the word “Wing” to avoid confusion with a statutory organ of the party.
The name change, confirmed in a formal approval letter issued by the secretariat, was made necessary by the constitutional structure of the APC itself. The APC Youth Wing is a constitutionally defined statutory organ of the party, led by a National Youth Leader who sits on the National Working Committee — the party’s highest governing body — and operates through a formal national, zonal, state, local government, ward, and unit structure open to Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 40. The use of “Wing” in the name of an external support group was therefore considered a constitutional misrepresentation of its status, regardless of the group’s geographic scope or operational history.
The adjustment was formalised following a structured engagement between the group’s leadership and the APC National Secretariat, which culminated in a meeting between Director-General Honourable Gideon Olatunde Igbasan and APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda. At that meeting, the National Chairman is said to have emphasised strict compliance with the party’s constitutional provisions as a condition for the group’s continued recognition as an approved support group. The renamed organisation will now operate as APC Youth Network West Africa in all official communications.
The change takes effect immediately, though the transition is recent enough that the group was still using its former name in at least one public communication as recently as February 25.
A February 25 press release circulated under the old name announced that Director-General Igbasan had donated GH₵50,000 to the National Association of Nigerian Students, Ghana Chapter, in support of an upcoming Camp Week programme, an amount approved at a meeting held at the group’s Accra secretariat.
Read Also: Adamawa Assembly Tilts To APC As 16 Lawmakers Quit PDP
Honourable Igbasan, reached by telephone, said the repositioning strengthened structural alignment with the party’s constitutional provisions while reinforcing what he described as a coordinated network approach to youth mobilisation across the West African sub-region.
He expressed appreciation to APC National Chairman Professor Yilwatda for his constitutional guidance throughout the process, and acknowledged the contributions of APC National Secretary Dr. Ajibola Basiru, National Youth Leader Dayo Israel, Director of Administration at the APC National Secretariat Mr. Ayoola Olajolo, and Head of Support Group and Mobilisation Alhaji Salisu Yahaya Alfa for their institutional and administrative support.
Read Also: Outcome Of Elections Reflects Support For Tinubu, APC – Wike
The group has been expanding its West African footprint over the past year, with active chapters in Togo, Benin Republic, and Côte d’Ivoire. A secretariat in Accra, Ghana, is operational, and preparations have been underway for the launch of additional secretariats in Lagos, Nigeria, and Benin Republic. Honourable Igbasan confirmed that the Lagos-Ikeja secretariat is expected to open shortly, with plans for further expansion across the subregion. He said the name change would not affect the group’s leadership structure, mission, or commitment to supporting the objectives of the APC and the Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The group’s most prominent recent activity was a high-level Youth Town Hall Meeting hosted in Accra in early February under the theme “Back Home, Still Involved,” at which participants formally endorsed President Tinubu’s second-term bid, pledging to mobilise Nigerian youths resident across West Africa in support of the 2027 campaign, and identifying the administration’s student loan fund, technical vocational training programmes, credit support schemes, and infrastructure investments as evidence of tangible youth-focused governance.
The APC National Secretariat did not issue a public statement on the name change beyond the formal approval letter described by the group. No press conference was held. The change does not affect the group’s recognition as an approved APC support group and carries no implications for party membership or voting rights. Its next scheduled public activity had not been announced as of the time of publication.
