The Media Office of Nigeria’s former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has clarified that Daniel Bwala is not a former aide to the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
A statement from the media office categorically stated that Bwala only served as a spokesperson for the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation in the 2023 presidential polls, and it was not in the capacity of an aide to Atiku.
“Bwala is a former spokesperson of Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation and not a former aide to the former Vice President,” the statement partly read.
A part of the statement urged the media and the general population to take note and desist from referring to Bwala as Atiku’s aide.
It added that Bwala had moved on, and was forging a path for himself away from the Atiku media team.
“It is important that the media and the general public take corrective note of defining Mr Daniel Bwala as an aide to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar.
“Bwala offered his services and support to the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation as a spokesperson – and it was a position he held during the last presidential campaign.
“Subsequently, and after the election, the need for a campaign spokesperson has terminated, and Bwala has moved on with his career.
“This, therefore, serves as notice to the media and the interested public to desist from defining Bwala as an ex-aide of Atiku Abubakar.
“We duly urge the public to henceforth recognise, introduce, and define Daniel Bwala by his current vocation and alliance,” the statement explained further for clarity of purpose.
Recall that Daniel Bwala incurred the wrath of Nigerians on social media in January, after the politician made bold statements admitting that he was open to working with Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Bwala claimed he was more than willing to defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Tinubu’s party, if that was a requirement for him to serve in the administration that came into power in 2023.
“I told him today, I am committing to play my part to support your administration, and I have no apologies to anybody,” he had said to some press members.
“APC is a party. President Bola Tinubu is my motivation; if supporting him will take me to APC, so be it,” he added enthusiastically.
Following his spoken intentions to move to the APC if given the opportunity, Bwala received heavy backlash from Nigerians who tagged him the face of “stomach infrastructure”.
Bwala has been an unapologetic critic of the Tinubu-led administration, and his words, which were a sharp contrast of what he stood for overtime, garnered a lot of criticisms.