The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has disclosed that nearly 70 per cent of the President’s current team had, at some point, opposed him politically.
Bwala spoke on a television programme on Thursday, addressing concerns that some individuals on the recent ambassadorial list were undeserving because of their past criticisms or opposition to Tinubu.
He recalled a conversation with the President, noting the influence of Tinubu’s mother on his inclusive approach to political appointments.
“As the head of the market women, she taught him that if you are going to be angry with people just because they offended you, you will wake up one morning and find that there are no people left for you to lead,” Bwala said.
He added, “Our posture from the Presidency is to be silent until the National Assembly is able to run through the confirmation process, because we feel that if we throw energy behind that, it will amount to prejudicing the National Assembly… But looking at the history and trajectory of Tinubu, I can say that more than 70 per cent of people with him have worked against him in the past at some point.”
Bwala also shared a personal encounter with the President, explaining how Tinubu advised him not to worry about past differences: “When I first met him on the 10th of January last year, as soon as I walked in, I was trying to apologise… Tinubu said, ‘You do not even have to go to that extent because if you had listened to me, what you thought was your fear, you do not have to associate it with me: the Muslim–Muslim ticket.’”
President Tinubu recently submitted the names of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, following an initial batch of three. The nominees include prominent figures such as former INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu, former presidential aide Reno Omokri, former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode, and former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
