BWALA DEFENDS INTERVIEW WITH MEHDI HASSAN, SAYS HE WILL NEVER DUCK CHANCE TO DEFEND TINUBU

Special Adviser to President on Media and Policy Communication, D.H Bwala, has broken his silence over his recent interview with Mehdi Hassan, stating that he is prepared to appear before any interviewer anywhere in the world to defend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration.

In a statement, D.H Bwala, Special Adviser to President on Media and Policy Communication, addressed the social media explosion that followed his interview with Hassan, saying he was setting the record straight. Bwala noted that when he signed on to the privileged job granted to him by Mr. President, he was well aware of its implications, adding that selling ice cream, looking fine, and seeking the praises of men were never part of it.

He pointed out that some of the fiercest critics of his interview cannot even stand local TV anchors, but the task of promoting and defending the President and his administration is what he does with ease and joy. Bwala emphasised that he has never and will never subscribe to ducking or dodging interviews on matters concerning promoting and defending the administration he was appointed to serve, describing it as the least of what is required of him.

Bwala disclosed that Head to Head contacted him requesting an interview, stating they wanted to challenge the government on security, the economy, and corruption. He noted that nowhere in their almost six months of communication did they mention they were going to challenge his past, and if that had been their plan, ethically and professionally, they were supposed to inform him so he could prepare his response. He added that ethically, that is on them, not on him.

The presidential aide stated that he refused to swallow the pill of Mehdi’s opposition research-style journalism, and even today, if carefully compared what he read as quotes from organisations and groups, many were inaccurate and some were outright fake news. Regarding what he said about President Tinubu in the past, Bwala expressed gladness that those were things he said when he was in the opposition saddle with such zeal, describing it as all politics.

He noted that half of Donald Trump’s cabinet is made up of people who once spoke against him, and quite a number of people in the cabinet also spoke against President Tinubu in the past, adding that those things do not bother him. Bwala said the majority of the naysayers are members of the opposition and their sympathisers, and 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 and mission in conducting and managing a political party yet they seek to manage Nigeria.

He stated that they have no path to victory and no alternative policies or program for the Nigerian people, and if they say they do, they can go to Head to Head and be interrogated on that. Bwala concluded by thanking many Nigerians and non-Nigerians who sent in their commendations over his brave defence of the government in an interview where the anchor would hardly let him answer a question unless it suited his narrative.

He expressed admiration and respect for Mehdi Hassan as arguably the best debater on the planet and said he looks forward to part two of the Head to Head interview, glad that by then questions about his past will no longer be news so they can focus on the administration’s policies, programs and achievements so far.