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The Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, on Tuesday, got involved in a heated exchange with TV host Rufai Oseni when he appeared for an interview on Arise TV....TAP HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY..>>
Trouble began when Oseni asked Bwala to state the true nature of his role and office under President Bola Tinubu.
The show host reminded him that he was first introduced as a presidential spokesman but was later demoted to the current position he now holds.
Oseni also asked him to state what his relationship is like with the other presidential spokespersons in the person of Bayo Onanuga and Sunday Dare.
“What is your relationship like with them? Is your office in the Villa? Do you still have that access to President Tinubu or that little back and forth has pushed you down the pecking order? Because they now changed you to Special Adviser on Policy Communication, which a lot of people said was a demotion,” Oseni said.
The TV host also drew his attention to interviews he granted in 2023 which had him criticizing the same Tinubu he now works for.
In response, Bwala pointed out to Oseni that he never granted any interview about Tinubu in 2013, a year which Oseni mentioned via a slip of the tongue.
Oseni, who admitted that it must have been a slip of the tongue, accused Bwala of capitalizing on it to deflect from answering the questions he was asked.
In response, Bwala said, “Let me tell you one thing. What cannot happen here is that you cannot control me or talk to me like a secondary school student. If you ask a question, stand back and listen to the answer.”
On the activities of the presidential spokespersons in the Villa, Bwala said it was not Oseni’s business but went ahead to give him details.
He said, “My office is 101 in the Villa. I’m a Special Adviser to the President. I was initially announced as Special Adviser Media and Public Communication but redesigned to Special Adviser Policy Communication. The status is still there as Special Adviser. So no demotion, the same. I have unfettered access to the President; last week we had a meeting.
“You said Sunday Dare and Bayo Onanuga corrected me; that’s wrong. It was a press statement from the Presidency and there was no specific individual that corrected me. I’m still a presidential spokesman. The statement that was issued said instead of one, there are three presidential spokesmen.”
On why he criticized Tinubu’s administration in the past, Bwala said it was because he was in opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Bwala had accused Tinubu of rigging the election that made him President, adding that the Tinubu administration would face challenges with moral legitimacy upon assuming office.
“Right now, although the presumption of law is in favour of Tinubu until the final determination of the election tribunal and appeals, he will struggle with moral legitimacy (because he rigged the election) for 240 days of his presidency,” Bwala posted on X.
“Eminent scholars, human rights activists, and strong opinion molders who have traditionally been critical are suddenly, for cultural and tribal reasons, throwing their weight behind him in a clandestine way,” he added.
Doubling down on his stance, in May 2023, Bwala described Tinubu as a “president-select” rather than a “president-elect.”
According to him, the election that saw the emergence of Tinubu as President was manipulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“We are in court to say it was a rigged process. As long as there is no final determination of the matter, we have every right under law, equity, and justice to express our opinion that he is a president-select and not a president-elect,” Bwala declared.
In his Tuesday interview on Arise TV, Bwala revealed that his perception of the President changed when they met, leading to his appointment.
“I criticised Tinubu’e election and administration in the past because I was in the opposition.
“The opposition’s work is to criticise the sitting government and hold them accountable. My views changed after I met the President, and he saw a need to appoint me,” he said.
