What Atiku told me after meeting with Tinubu – Daniel Bwala

Daniel Bwala, the former spokesman for Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the February 2023 election, claims to have told his former principal about his meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics program Wednesday, Bwala said: “I informed Atiku Abubakar I was going to see the president.”

“After I had seen the President, I informed him (Atiku) that I had just seen the President and he replied to me that, ‘Thanks Daniel for notifying me’.”

Known for his harsh criticism of All Progressives Congress (APC), the lawyer insisted that he had not betrayed Atiku by switching to endorse the former governor of Lagos state, who became victorious in the February 2023 presidential poll.

“It’s absolute nonsense for somebody to say because I said I will support President Bola Tinubu therefore I betrayed Atiku,” Bwala declared.

He dismissed as baseless the criticisms that followed his unexpected endorsement of Tinubu, whom he disparaged in the 2023 political campaign.

When Tinubu selected Kashim Shettima, the former governor of Borno, as his running mate in July 2022, Bwala, who was then a member of the APC, ditched the ruling party.

After criticising Tinubu for selecting a Muslim as his running mate, the politician-cum-lawyer jumped on the bandwagon of Atiku, the former vice president who is Muslim and who selected Ifeanyi Okowa, the former governor of Delta, as his deputy.

In a surprising event twist, Bwala who was one of Atiku’s most outspoken and frank campaign spokespersons during the run-up to the most recent election, dazed Nigerians by meeting with the President in the Aso Villa in Abuja and announcing his unwavering support for him.

Bwala however, maintained that people have the “right to change ideology” in the face of the intense criticisms directed at him for his unexpected decision, which called into question his political ideology.