• Super Admin
• 06 Mar, 2026

Responding to claims that he had previously accused the government of corruption while in the opposition, Bwala dismissed the allegations. The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has defended the Nigerian government against allegations of massive corruption, describing such claims as mere opinions rather than established facts. Bwala spoke during a heated appearance on Head to Head hosted by Mehdi Hasan on Al Jazeera, where he was questioned on corruption allegations against the Tinubu administration, insecurity in Nigeria and his shift from a critic of the government to a presidential spokesman. Responding to claims that he had previously accused the government of corruption while in the opposition, Bwala dismissed the allegations. "That's the opinion," he said, adding that the comments attributed to him did not accurately represent the full context of his earlier statements. "What you just said is not exactly the true representation," he argued. During the interview, Bwala also defended a controversial joint military operation between Nigeria and the United States in which American forces struck targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day. He rejected the suggestion that the United States unilaterally bombed Nigeria. "The United States government did not bomb our country," he said. "The decision by the U.S. government was anchored on the intelligence sharing between Nigeria and the United States and the agreement on the operation." According to him, the operation followed diplomatic communication between U.S. officials and the Nigerian government, explaining that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister, who subsequently informed the President before the strike was carried out. Bwala also dismissed claims that Christians were being targeted for genocide in Nigeria, including assertions previously made by former U.S. President Donald Trump. "We believe that it is a targeted killing by insurgents, Boko Haram, bandits and criminal elements against the people of Nigeria -- Christians, Muslims and those who have not identified with any religion," he said, describing the narrative of Christian genocide as a "hoax." When confronted with reports of civilian casualties from the strikes, including testimony cited from a Nigerian resident by the Washington Post, Bwala insisted the operation targeted terrorists. "I am saying that the military operation that was conducted on that day was targeted at terrorists and we hit them," he said. However, Hasan pointed to data showing that about 11,000 people were killed in conflict in Nigeria in 2025, compared with 8,700 in 2023 -- a 26 per cent increase since Tinubu assumed office. Bwala rejected suggestions that the figures reflected worsening security, maintaining that the government remained committed to tackling terrorism and criminal violence across the country. Source: https://saharareporters.com/2026/03/06/tinubus-aide-daniel-bwala-makes-frantic-effort-defend-government-against-corruption