A chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Daniel Bwala, has suddenly brushed aside his criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s ‘nepotistic’ appointments and pledged allegiance to the president and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to Bwala, he is now committed to supporting Tinubu even if that requires him to return to the APC which he dumped ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Bwala, an ally of former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, stated this on Wednesday after a closed-door meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
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Explaining his decision to return to Tinubu’s fold, Bwala said, “Some of his ministers that were allegedly reported to have committed infractions, instead of protecting them, he asked that the law should take its course. And he suspended somebody without wasting time. That to me is impressive because it is about the people.
“Secondly, there has been this outcry that the government is bloated and the rest. Yesterday he introduced a policy to reduce the cost of governance and today he told me it is just the beginning. There are many more decisions of government that would reduce the cost of governance,” Bwala added.
Bwala further stated, “This is not about political parties and you need to know that I was with him (before the presidential election) before I left and I was doggedly committed to him. I told him today, I am committing to play my part to support your administration, and I have no apologies to anybody.”
When asked if he’s back in the ruling APC, Bwala said, “APC is a party. President Bola Tinubu is my motivation; if supporting him will take me to APC, so be it.”
‘NEPOTISM PRO MAX’
Bwala’s remarks come after he had in late 2023 faulted Tinubu’s appointments as “nepotism pro max” when the president nominated additional persons to serve as ministers in his cabinet.
As spokesman of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council, Bwala, who was among lawyers seeking Tinubu’s sacking through the courts, had said the president’s appointments had not been fair.
“President Bola Tinubu’s appointment is nepotistic and now has earned the status of nepotism pro max 15,” he said in September on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics.
“We earn the right to point out things that the President and his administration are doing which are not uniting Nigeria, which are not pushing us towards the path of progress”.
“I earn the right to speak truth to power because President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is somebody that I, Bwala Daniel, respect with the greatest respect.”
Bwala added. “I supported him when I was in the APC in the primaries, and more than just that, I, along with the PDP, sent my congratulations to him after he was sworn in which brought a lot of backlash to me.”