In a striking display of political reversal, Daniel Bwala, the official spokesperson for Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, flatly denied making past allegations against his current boss during a high-stakes interview on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head.
The exchange, which has since gone viral, saw host Mehdi Hasan confront Bwala with his own words from January 2023, back when Bwala was a vocal member of the opposition. The confrontation centered on allegations that Tinubu had utilized a militia to influence the 2023 presidential election.
Hasan pressed Bwala on a specific statement made on January 22, 2023, regarding the creation of a militant wing within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“You said Tinubu started a militia to sway the election corruptly,” Hasan put to Bwala.
Bwala responded with a categorical denial, despite the host citing the exact date of the previous remarks.
“Tinubu never created a militia,” Bwala stated. “Tinubu is one of the foremost politicians in Nigerian history Tinubu and his people never created the militia.”
When Hasan pushed further, asking why Bwala had originally made those claims on January 22nd, Bwala simply replied: “I never said that.”
The interview took a turn when Hasan played back a clip of Bwala from 2023 in which he clearly stated:
“The candidate of All Progressives Congress… and his people created a militia. This is the first time in the history of Nigeria we’ve seen a political party creating a militant arm leading to election.”
Bwala also previously alleged that he had “received threats” from Tinubu’s camp. However, during the Al Jazeera interview, he distanced himself from these claims as well, stating, “I never said he tried to kill me I never said that.”See_More…