Presidential aide Daniel Bwala denied he ever called President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a drug lord. He issued the clarification during a recent interview.
Daniel Bwala served as a key figure in the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign in 2023. He worked for the Peoples Democratic Party ticket at the time. Critics later claimed he used the term against Tinubu during the heated race.
Daniel Bwala rejected those claims outright. “I have never called him a derogatory name. I have never called him that,” he said. He added that he disagreed with the label throughout the campaign. “If you ask people from the other side where I worked with, if there was one thing I disagreed with throughout the campaign was the appellation that he is a drug lord,” he stated.
Lawyer Emmanuel Anene supported Daniel Bwala’s position. He examined available records and found nothing. “There is no video, audio, or writing that shows Daniel Bwala calling President Tinubu a drug dealer,” Emmanuel Anene said.
Daniel Bwala now serves as special adviser to the president on policy communication. He joined the Tinubu administration after the election. Despite the political change, he stood firm on the denial. He stressed that other individuals used the phrase, not him.
Daniel Bwala turned attention to his present responsibilities in the presidency. He avoided further debate on past campaign rhetoric. Observers noted his repeated clarifications on earlier statements.
The denial ended speculation about his 2023 comments. Daniel Bwala maintained he never crossed that line.
