Over 70% of Tinubu’s team once opposed him – Presidential aide

File copy: The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala.

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The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has revealed that nearly 70 per cent of those currently working with the President had, at one point, opposed him politically.

Bwala stated this while responding to concerns that some individuals on the ambassadorial list were undeserving because they had previously criticised or worked against Tinubu.

Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Thursday, Bwala recalled a conversation in which Tinubu told him that his mother taught him to embrace even those who once stood against him.

He said, “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, as subjecting them to the process will lead to them being sworn in as ambassadors.

“If it is because of the political decision of the President, those who understand politics know that the political environment is toxic. 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 added, “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, as I could not tell an elder no, since my mind was made up. 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.’

“But in terms of people who worked against him, he made it clear to me, narrating individuals who had opposed him in the past, that his mother influenced him in that area. 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.’”

PUNCH Online had reported that President Tinubu submitted the names of 32 ambassadorial nominees to the Senate for confirmation, days after sending an initial batch of three names.

The list includes prominent figures such as former Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu; former presidential aide, Reno Omokri; former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode; and former Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, among others.

In a statement issued last Saturday, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said all nominees will know their specific diplomatic postings only after Senate confirmation.

He noted that the list also includes four women among the career ambassadors and six women among the non-career ambassadors.

Olugbenga is a fine-grained journalist with over nine years of experience. He loves the smell of a good lead and has a penchant for finding out interesting good reports.

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