Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Media and Policy, has explained the reasons behind his past criticism of the current administration.
Speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show on Tuesday, he acknowledged that his previous stance was influenced by his position within the opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Bwala admitted that he had strongly opposed Tinubu’s election and governance, emphasizing that his role as an opposition figure required him to challenge the ruling government and demand accountability.
However, he said that his views shifted after a personal meeting with the President, which led to his appointment.
I criticised Tinubu’s election and administration in the past because I was in the opposition,” Bwala said during the interview.
“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.”
Before his appointment, Bwala had been one of Tinubu’s most vocal critics, accusing him of electoral malpractice.
Bwala’s past remarks
He had argued that the President would struggle with moral legitimacy due to alleged irregularities in the election process.
“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 wrote on X.
He also expressed concern over the changing allegiances of influential figures who had previously criticized Tinubu.
“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 remarked.
Bwala had repeatedly challenged the outcome of the 2023 presidential election, arguing that Tinubu was not a legitimate winner. In a May 2023 interview with Arise Television, he described Tinubu as a “president-select” rather than a “president-elect,” alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) manipulated the results.
“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,” he said.
His skepticism was evident even earlier, in March 2023, when he insisted that the PDP had actually won the election.
“We won. If these results were allowed to be read from the result sheet, we won with over one million votes. Nigerian people voted PDP as the winner of this election, but history and posterity will judge,” he claimed.
Bwala’s recent comments reflect a significant shift in his stance, raising questions about the factors that influenced his change of perspective.