National chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Nentawe Yilwatda on Tuesday visited the office of The Progressive Institute (TPI) in Abuja, describing the visit as his first official engagement with the institute.
During the visit, Mr Yilwatda said the party remains committed to stability, evidence-based decision-making and structured engagement with key sectors, including academia, civil society, development partners and the private sector.
He described TPI as a key component of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and said the institute is central to stabilising the party and strengthening internal democratic processes.
The APC chairman noted discussions with the European Union on potential collaboration in research and conflict management and announced plans to build research capacity to support TPI’s work in opinion polling, policy research and strategic decision-making.
“We need credible opinion polls and rigorous research to guide our strategic choices, and I expect the Institute to be of immense assistance to the party in this regard,” Yilwatda said.
He also assured that the party would engage relevant stakeholders in TPI-led training programmes across the country and pledged to explore support for land acquisition to make the institute accessible to the international community.
The Director General of TPI, Lanre Adebayo, said the institute serves as the think tank and resource centre of the APC and provides stability and structure for decision-making.
He outlined the institute’s activities over the past year, including training of party officers, stakeholders and public officials in different states and said TPI remains committed to supporting the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Mr Adebayo said TPI is designed to be self-funding through its training programmes but highlighted the need for a sustainable financial framework to maintain independence and support the party.
He also disclosed a strategic roadmap for international engagement and planning for the next election cycle, focusing on media and non-governmental organisation engagement.
Senior staff of the institute who received the APC chairman included director of training and programmes Mallam Sanusi, director of finance Ibor Bassey, director of legal studies Egos Ezuma and Saad.
