“Bwala First Reached Us Requesting False Narrative Against Tinubu Govt” — Atiku’s Camp

The media team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, of previously approaching them to create a false narrative against the Tinubu administration.

In a statement released Saturday, signed by Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president’s camp said Bwala requested that they issue a press release alleging threats to his life from President Tinubu and his associates. Shaibu said the team rejected the request, calling it a “frivolous and opportunistic” attempt at political theatre.

The statement comes after Bwala’s recent interview with Al Jazeera journalist Mehdi Hassan, which Atiku’s camp criticized for downplaying the country’s security challenges. Shaibu accused Bwala of trivializing the deaths of thousands of Nigerians over the past two years, calling it “nothing short of wickedness.”

Shaibu added that the interview revealed contradictions in Bwala’s statements and highlighted the difficulty of reconciling shifting political loyalties with factual realities.

“The interviewer methodically dismantled the talking points he came armed with,” Shaibu said, “exposing the uncomfortable spectacle of a spokesperson struggling with inconvenient facts.”