Daniel Bwala, President Bola Tinubu’s recently appointed special adviser on public communications and media, has responded to the public criticism that has followed his nomination.
In an interview with State House media on Monday, Bwala, a former spokeswoman for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign in 2023, denied that his appointment was motivated by personal ambition.
Bwala stressed the need to focus on Tinubu’s administration’s broader goals, despite the distractions that typically come with public office.
Bwala claimed that the negative reactions to his appointment were caused by external forces seeking to undermine the president.
He said:
“In life, generally, you look at focus. When you are focused on a thing, you are going to be faced with distraction.”
“Your character will be determined by how you conduct yourself in the case of carrying out the information.
“It’s about the government. It’s about the president. It’s about his administration. It’s not about Bwala, and because these things have been trashed before. I don’t want to feed the negative energy that is obviously sponsored by some elements who think that by doing so, you can gaslight the President.
“The President is committed, and we are committed to the force of the President, so I won’t feed into that energy.”
When asked about his role in the administration, Bwala maintained that he is exclusively focused on supporting President Tinubu’s objectives.
Bwala acknowledged the role of his predecessor, Ajuri Ngelale, but stated that his primary objective is not to define or overshadow the responsibilities of others in the administration.
“We are working to achieve the mandate of Mr. President. What I can tell you is that, all of us are servants of the president,” Bwala said.
“There is no issue as to the differences in terms of the responsibility; everybody knows his responsibility.
“I only came to introduce myself to you and the role that was given to me by Mr. President. I told you that role was once occupied by Ajuri Ngelale. But for God’s sake, we are all colleagues.
“We are not particularly bothered about who is this who is that. We are working to achieve the mandate of Mr President.”