Tinubu’s Aide Over Alleged Woeful Outing In Media Interview
The camp of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply criticised President Bola Tinubu’s aide, Daniel Bwala over his alleged woeful performance in a recent media interview he granted to Al Jazeera.
In a statement released in Abuja on Saturday, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described Bwala’s appearance on the network’s “Head to Head”programme as embarrassing and accused him of spreading falsehoods while defending the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bwala, who currently serves as Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Policy Communication, appeared on the programme hosted by journalist, Mehdi Hasan.
During the interview, the host confronted Bwala with past statements he allegedly made when he was aligned with Atiku’s political camp, including criticisms of Tinubu before Bwala later joined the ruling party.
The discussion also touched on Nigeria’s security challenges and governance issues, with the interviewer citing reports from international organisations and questioning the government’s record on insecurity.
Reacting to the interview, Shaibu said Bwala’s attempt to portray his performance as a strong defence of the government was misleading.
According to him, the interview exposed contradictions between Bwala’s past political positions and his current role in the government.
He said: “What Nigerians witnessed was not fearless debate but a spokesperson struggling to reconcile shifting loyalties with inconvenient facts.”
Shaibu also accused Bwala of previously asking Atiku’s media team to issue a statement claiming that Tinubu and his associates had threatened his life—an allegation the team said it refused to publish.
The Atiku camp further criticised Bwala’s defence of the government’s handling of insecurity, arguing that dismissing the scale of violence in Nigeria was irresponsible.
Shaibu said trivialising the deaths of thousands of Nigerians over recent years amounted to “moral bankruptcy” and undermined the seriousness of the country’s security crisis.
Despite the backlash, Bwala has defended his appearance on the programme, stating that he had no regrets representing the government on an international platform.
He said defending the administration of President Tinubu is part of his official responsibility and insisted he would continue to do so anywhere in the world.
