Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, says more than 70 per cent of individuals currently serving in the President’s administration had, at some point, opposed him politically.
Gatekeepers News reports that Bwala made the remark on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television’s Morning Show, while reacting to concerns over the suitability of some ambassadorial nominees who had previously criticised or worked against Tinubu.
He said the Presidency was deliberately taking a neutral approach as the National Assembly conducts the confirmation process.
“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,” Bwala said. “If it is because of the political decision of the President, those who understand politics know that the political environment is toxic.”
According to him, Tinubu has a long-standing history of working with former political rivals.
“It is up to individuals who occupy political positions to exercise discretion and decide that ‘this one, I would appoint him even though he worked against me in the past,’ or ‘I would not work with those who worked against me in the past.’ 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,” he said.
Bwala also shared a personal encounter illustrating the President’s approach to political reconciliation.
“When I first met him on the 10th of January last year, as soon as I walked in, I was trying to apologise because he had been trying to get in touch with me, and I was avoiding him,” he recounted.
“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.’”
He added that Tinubu credited his mother’s influence for his willingness to work with former critics.
“The President said, ‘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.’”
President Tinubu recently forwarded a list of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, following an earlier batch of three. Among them are former INEC Chairman Prof Mahmood Yakubu, former presidential aide Reno Omokri, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode, and former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
According to Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, specific diplomatic postings will only be assigned after the Senate’s approval. He noted that the nomination list includes four female career ambassadors and six female non-career nominees.
