The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has disowned Daniel Bwala, who served as a spokesperson for his presidential campaign.
Atiku, in a statement released by his media office on Tuesday, said that Mr Bwala is not and has never been his aide beyond his role as a spokesperson for his presidential campaign between 2022 and early 2023.
The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party said Mr Bwala’s role in the presidential campaign terminated with the election coming to an end last year.
The statement read partly, “It is important that the media and the general public take corrective note of defining Mr Daniel Bwala as an aide to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar.
“Bwala offered his services and support to the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization as a spokesperson – and it was a position he held during the last presidential campaign.”
Atiku’s statement denying ties with Mr Bwala comes amid growing rapport between the former PDP presidential campaign spokesperson and President Bola Tinubu.
Mr Bwala transformed from being an unsparing attacker of presidential candidate Tinubu and his party, the All Progressives Congress, during the campaigns to being an apostle of his policies after the former Lagos State governor was inaugurated as president.
His public support for Mr Tinubu on social media and national TVs earned him privileged meetings with the president within and outside the country in January.
On 11 January, 2024, he honoured an invitation to the Presidential Villa as the president’s guest.
After the visit, the lawyer said he was committed to working for the president and had no apologies for doing so.
He said, “In the last few days, I have been expressing my surprise and appreciation to the president for the decisions he is taking. So this is not about political parties. And you need to know that like I said, I was with him before I left.”
He also said on TV later on that he informed Atiku of his plan to meet Mr Tinubu and also updated him after returning from the Presidential Villa. According to Mr Bwala, Atiku replied his message, saying, “Thanks for notifying me”.
Later in January, he met again with Mr Tinubu in France, further fuelling speculations of his imminent return to the ruling APC.
Mr Bwala’s rapprochement with Mr Tinubu is a telling comeback of a relationship that only went sour after Mr Tinubu picked Kashim Shettima as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election in 2022.
Mr Bwala supported President Tinubu during the presidential primaries of the APC but withdrew his support because of the controversial Muslim/Muslim ticket of the APC.
He subsequently resigned from the ruling party after President Tinubu announced Kashim Shettima, a Muslim and former Borno State governor, as his running mate
The release fully read, “Bwala is a former spokesperson of Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation and not a former aide to the former Vice President.
“It is important that the media and the general public take corrective note of defining Mr Daniel Bwala as an aide to His Excellency Atiku Abubakar.
“Bwala offered his services and support to the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Organization as a spokesperson – and it was a position he held during the last presidential campaign.
“Subsequently, and after the election, the need for a campaign spokesperson has terminated, and Bwala has moved on with his career.
“This, therefore, serves as notice to the media and the interested public to desist from defining Bwala as an ex-aide of Atiku Abubakar.
“We duly urge the public to henceforth recognize, introduce, and define Daniel Bwala by his current vocation and alliance.”
