• Super Admin
• 07 Mar, 2026

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy Communication, has defended his conduct following a viral television interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan, insisting he remains ready to defend the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu before any interviewer anywhere in the world. In a press statement issued on Saturday, Bwala addressed the wave of reactions that followed the interview, which circulated widely across social media and sparked heated debate. "In the last 24 hours, social media has exploded over my interview with Mehdi Hassan, albeit with varied opinions," he said. "Let me set the record straight." Bwala stated that when he accepted the position offered by President Tinubu, he fully understood that the job required him to publicly defend the government's policies and programmes. "When I signed on to the privileged job granted to me by Mr. President, I was well aware of its implications. Selling ice cream, looking fine, and seeking the praises of men were never part of it. Some of the fiercest critics of my interview can not even stand local TV anchors. "But the task of promoting and defending the President and his administration is what I do with ease and joy. I am prepared to appear before any interviewer, anywhere in the world, any day and at any time, to defend this government and its policies. "I have never, and will never, subscribe to ducking or dodging interviews on matters that concern promoting and defending the administration I was appointed to serve. It is the least of what is required of me," he said. The presidential aide also criticised the format of the interview, saying the producers had initially indicated that the discussion would focus on national issues such as security, the economy and corruption. According to him, the focus later shifted to his past statements about President Tinubu while he was in the opposition. He also accused the interviewer of relying on what he described as "opposition research-style journalism," claiming that some of the quotes attributed to organisations during the interview were inaccurate. "Head to Head contacted me requesting an interview, stating that they wanted to challenge our government on security, the economy, and corruption. Nowhere in our almost six months of communication did they mention that they were going to challenge my past. "If that had been their plan, ethically and professionally, they were supposed to inform me so I could prepare my response. But that's okay, ethically, that is on them, not on me. "I refused to swallow the pill of Mehdi's "opposition research-style journalism," and even today, if you carefully compare what he read as quotes from organisations and groups, you will see that many were inaccurate and some were outright fake news. But I will leave that for another day," Bwala stated. Responding to criticism over his previous remarks about Tinubu, Bwala acknowledged that the comments were made when he was aligned with the opposition. He noted that similar situations occur in other political systems, citing the administration of Donald Trump, where several officials had once criticised the former U.S. president before later serving in his government. Bwala dismissed the backlash over the interview as largely driven by opposition supporters and insisted their reactions would not endure. He also challenged opposition figures to subject themselves to similar scrutiny. "As for what I said about President Tinubu in the past, I am glad those were things I said when I was in the opposition saddle with such zeal. It is all politics. Half of Donald Trump's cabinet is made up of people who once spoke against him, and quite a number of people in our own cabinet also spoke against President Tinubu in the past. Those things do not bother him if you care to know. "The majority of the naysayers are members of the opposition and their sympathisers. It does not bother me one bit. Their temporary excitement over the interview has not lasted and will not last, because it does not take away their obvious problem of lack of vision, mission in conducting and managing a political party; yet they seek to manage Nigeria. "Clearly they have no path to victory and no alternative policies or program for the Nigerian people. And if they say they do, they can as well go to head to head and be interrogated on that; as the saying in Hausa goes "Ga fili Ga doki"," he stated. Despite the controversy, Bwala said he still holds respect for Hasan, describing him as "arguably the best debater on the planet," and expressed readiness to appear again for a second part of the interview. Bwala wrote: "I conclude by thanking the many Nigerians and non-Nigerians who sent in their commendations over my brave defence of our government in an interview where the anchor would hardly let you answer a question unless it suited his narrative. "I still have admiration and respect for Mehdi Hassan as arguably the best debater on the planet. I look forward to part two of the Head to Head interview, and I am glad that by then questions about my past will no longer be news so that we can focus on our administration's policies, programs and what we have achieved so far". Source: https://thenewsguru.ng/news/daniel-bwala-defends-himself-after-viral-interview-with-mehdi-hasan/