Bwala Defends Tinubu on Al Jazeera Interview, Dares Mehdi Hasan to Rematch

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, on Saturday defended his performance during a recent television interview and criticised those who attacked him over the exchange with journalist Mehdi Hasan.

Bwala’s response followed widespread reactions on social media after his appearance on Head to Head, a programme on Al Jazeera, where he discussed the policies and performance of the administration of Bola Tinubu.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Bwala dismissed the backlash against him as “temporary excitement” by critics and opposition figures whom he said lacked the vision and mission to govern Nigeria.

He said defending the policies of the current administration was part of his responsibility and insisted he would continue to do so anywhere in the world.

“Selling ice cream, looking fine, and seeking praises were never part of the job,” Bwala said, adding that he remained committed to defending the government’s record on issues such as security, the economy and corruption.

Bwala also accused Hasan’s team of what he described as ambush journalism, claiming that discussions leading up to the interview had focused on questioning the government’s performance rather than his previous criticisms of Tinubu before joining the administration.

According to him, the use of his past comments during the interview was not communicated beforehand and he described some of the references as inaccurate and misleading.

He, however, said differences in political positions were common in politics, noting that leaders often appoint former critics into their administrations.

The presidential aide also challenged critics to appear on the same programme to defend their policy proposals, using the Hausa expression “Ga fili ga doki,” which translates to “the field is open, show what you can do.”

Despite the disagreement, Bwala described Hasan as a strong debater and called for a second edition of the interview, saying a rematch would allow the discussion to focus more on the achievements of the Tinubu administration rather than his past political positions.