A visit to the Institute by Nentawa G. Yilwatda

 

 

 

I visited The Progressive Institute yesterday on a facility tour, and it was an important opportunity to reaffirm our party’s commitment to institutional stability, intellectual rigor and evidence-based decision-making.

This visit marked my first official engagement with the Institute, and I was pleased with the vision, resilience and dedication of the leadership and staff of TPI in building a strong intellectual foundation for our great party.

I particularly commended the deliberate efforts made to ensure the Institute’s independence and professionalism.

The Progressive Institute is one of the cardinal pillars of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. It is central to our broader objective of stabilising the party, deepening internal democracy and anchoring our politics on ideas, research and ideology rather than impulse.

Over the past six months, we have deliberately focused on building structured relationships between the party and key sectors of our society — academia, civil society, development partners and the private sector. This approach aligns squarely with the mandate of TPI as the think tank and resource centre of the APC.

I also shared ongoing engagements with the European Union, particularly in the area of research and conflict management, and expressed confidence that such collaborations will further strengthen the global relevance of the Institute. As a party, we must invest more in research capacity, opinion polling and policy analysis to guide our strategic decisions. TPI will play a critical role in this regard.

On capacity development, we will continue to engage all stakeholders to ensure broad participation in TPI-led training programmes across the country.

I also pledged to explore ways of supporting the Institute with land acquisition, in a location that is accessible to the international community and other stakeholders.

Our goal is clear: to develop TPI to international standards as a reference point for political research, training and thought leadership.

By Nentawa G. Yilwatda
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Federal Republic of Nigeria.