“That Is Sabotage,” Bwala Says on Tinubu Speech Leak

Daniel Bwala, former spokesman for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign, has condemned the premature leak of President Bola Tinubu’s speech on social media, labeling it as a deliberate act of sabotage.

The leak occurred ahead of President Tinubu’s scheduled nationwide broadcast on Sunday morning, igniting Bwala’s criticisms. Following the President’s address amid ongoing nationwide protests, Bwala expressed his concerns via his X account, stressing that unauthorized leaks can be harmful and should only occur with explicit presidential consent.

Bwala highlighted the protocol followed in the US, where presidential speeches are shared with the White House press corps just 15 minutes before delivery, and only in hard copy, to brief the press on the President’s direction. He underscored the need for maintaining confidentiality around presidential speeches and suggested repercussions for breaches.

“The speech by President Bola Tinubu was leaked last night and was published on social media before the morning. That is sabotage. Unless it was authorized by Mr. President, there should be consequences for the leak,” Bwala stated in his post.

In another post, he added, “In the US, I learned the president’s speech is only made available to the White House press corps 15 minutes before the address and only in hard copy to provide a heads-up about the president’s direction.”

Nigerians on X (formerly Twitter) have criticized President Tinubu’s media team for leaking the speech hours before the scheduled broadcast. The premature release, which went viral before the official address, left many questioning the competence of the presidency.

Netizens expressed concerns that if the media team cannot handle sensitive documents like the presidential address with care, it raises doubts about the government’s ability to lead effectively and move the country forward.