Presidential media aide, Daniel Bwala, has broken his silence after Nigerians dragged him over his interview with Al Jazeerah’s Mehdi Hassan.

Bwala has received heat online after he repeatedly refuted all the damning things he said against President Tinubu before making a u-turn and agreeing to work with the Tinubu government. Watch here

In his statement, Bwala said all the things he said about Tinubu in the past were all “politics.”

He said he was in the opposition when he made all the negative comments. He said he knew what he signed up for when he agreed to have a debate with Hassan.

‘’In the last 24 hours, social media has exploded over my interview with Mehdi Hassan, albeit with varied opinions. Let me set the record straight.

When I signed on to the privileged job granted to me by Mr. President, I was well aware of its implications. Selling ice cream, looking fine, and seeking the praises of men were never part of it. Some of the fiercest critics of my interview can not even stand local TV anchors. But the task of promoting and defending the President and his administration is what I do with ease and joy. I am prepared to appear before any interviewer, anywhere in the world, any day and at any time, to defend this government and its policies.

I have never, and will never, subscribe to ducking or dodging interviews on matters that concern promoting and defending the administration I was appointed to serve. It is the least of what is required of me.

Head to Head contacted me requesting an interview, stating that they wanted to challenge our government on security, the economy, and corruption. Nowhere in our almost six months of communication did they mention that they were going to challenge my past. If that had been their plan, ethically and professionally, they were supposed to inform me so I could prepare my response. But that’s okay, ethically, that is on them, not on me.

I refused to swallow the pill of Mehdi’s “opposition research-style journalism,” and even today, if you carefully compare what he read as quotes from organisations and groups, you will see that many were inaccurate and some were outright fake news. But I will leave that for another day.

As for what I said about President Tinubu in the past, I am glad those were things I said when I was in the opposition saddle with such zeal. It is all politics. Half of Donald Trump’s cabinet is made up of people who once spoke against him, and quite a number of people in our own cabinet also spoke against President Tinubu in the past. Those things do not bother him if you care to know.

The majority of the naysayers are members of the opposition and their sympathisers. It does not bother me one bit. 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, mission in conducting and managing a political party; yet they seek to manage Nigeria. Clearly they have no path to victory and no alternative policies or program for the Nigerian people. And if they say they do, they can as well go to head to head and be interrogated on that; as the saying in Hausa goes “Ga fili Ga doki”

I conclude by thanking the many Nigerians and non-Nigerians who sent in their commendations over my brave defence of our government in an interview where the anchor would hardly let you answer a question unless it suited his narrative.

I still have admiration and respect for Mehdi Hassan as arguably the best debater on the planet. I look forward to part two of the Head to Head interview, and I am glad that by then questions about my past will no longer be news so that we can focus on our administration’s policies, programs and what we have achieved so far.

Stay tuned.

– D.H Bwala

Special Adviser to President on Media and Policy Communication

(State House)

The Nigerian Police Force has dismissed allegations of certificate forgery against the Minister of Interior, Tunji Ojo, describing them as baseless following an extensive investigation.

The Police, through its spokesperson, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that no evidence was found of forgery, alteration, falsification, or unlawful production of the minister’s National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate.

According to him, the investigation established that there was no proof of forgery, alteration, falsification, or unlawful production of the minister’s NYSC certificate.

“After an exhaustive investigation into the allegations, it has been established that there is no evidence whatsoever of forgery, alteration, falsification or unlawful production of the minister’s NYSC certificate,” Hundeyin said.

He explained that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was contacted during the investigation and confirmed that the certificate in question was duly issued to the minister.

“The NYSC was contacted and it was verified that the certificate was duly issued by the corps to the minister. The allegations are therefore unfounded,” he added.

The development comes a day after youth and civil society groups staged a protest in Abuja over the alleged certificate forgery involving the minister.

The demonstrators accused Tunji-Ojo of providing conflicting information regarding his NYSC records, which they said raised concerns about integrity in public office.

Addressing journalists during the protest, one of the demonstrators said the minister had yet to publicly respond to the allegations.

“We have not heard from him. He has not come out to clarify to the public whether what is being said is right or wrong,” the protester said.

The protesters also argued that in similar circumstances, some public officials had resigned from office when faced with such allegations, insisting that accountability should apply equally to all public office holders.

“We want accountability, and we want everyone to be treated equally. What is good for one person should be good for all. If other ministers could resign over similar issues, we do not see why he should still remain in office,” the protester added.

They warned that failure to properly address such allegations could erode public trust in government institutions, particularly among young Nigerians, and undermine the credibility of public offices at the federal level.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the posting of 65 ambassadors-designate to various Nigerian missions and international organizations worldwide.

The list comprises 31 career diplomats and 34 non-career ambassadors, whose nominations were earlier confirmed by the Senate in December 2025.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the postings assign the envoys to various countries and international missions.

Among the non-career ambassadors, former presidential aide Reno Omokri was posted to Mexico, while former Minister of Aviation Femi Fani-Kayode was assigned to Germany.

Former Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole will serve in Canada, while former Minister of Interior Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau was posted to China.

Other notable appointments include Senator Ita Enang to South Africa, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Olufemi Pedro to Australia, and Lateef Kayode Are to the United States.

The President also approved the posting of several career diplomats to key missions.

These include Ambassador Abdussalam Habu Zayyad to Senegal, Ambassador Haidara Mohammed Idris to The Hague, Netherlands, Ambassador Ayeni Adebayo Emmanuel to Belgium, and Ambassador Ibrahim Danlami to Kenya, among others.

The Presidency disclosed that some countries have already issued diplomatic clearance, known as agrément, for Nigeria’s envoys.

The United Kingdom has approved Ambassador Aminu Dalhatu as Nigeria’s High Commissioner, while France has granted agrément for Ambassador Ayo Oke.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also formally notified other host countries of the appointments and requested their agrément in line with diplomatic procedures.

Tinubu has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately begin the induction programme for the ambassadors-designate and high commissioners ahead of their deployment to their respective missions.