Controversy Erupts in Tinubu’s Media Team as Bwala’s Appointment Sparks Confusion
President Bola Tinubu’s media team is in the spotlight once again following a fresh round of confusion and controversy. Daniel Bwala, former spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, recently joined the Tinubu administration’s communication team.
On Monday, Bwala officially announced that he had taken over as the President’s spokesperson, sharing photos of a press briefing with State House correspondents. However, his announcement was quickly met with a counterstatement from Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, who has been acting as the presidential spokesperson since the departure of Ajuri Ngelale in September.
Onanuga clarified that Tinubu’s communication team would not be led by a single spokesperson but rather a collective of three individuals. He announced a restructuring of the media and communications team aimed at improving the efficiency of government messaging.
According to Onanuga, “President Bola Tinubu has re-designated two recently appointed officials in the State House communications team. These changes will allow for more effective communication of government policies and decisions.”
The restructuring includes:
1. Sunday Dare, formerly Special Adviser on Public Communication and National Orientation, now appointed as Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications.
2. Daniel Bwala, previously announced as Special Adviser on Media and Public Communications, now re-designated as Special Adviser on Policy Communication.
This move effectively makes the three Special Advisers—Bwala, Dare, and Onanuga—all joint spokespersons for the government, with no single individual serving as the sole voice of the Presidency.
Both Bwala and Onanuga have not responded to media inquiries for comments as of the time of reporting.
This is not the first instance of controversy surrounding the President’s communication team. In May, during the first anniversary of Tinubu’s presidency, Onanuga and Ngelale issued conflicting statements regarding the President’s planned address to the nation. Onanuga had announced that Tinubu would forgo a nationwide broadcast in favor of addressing a joint session of the National Assembly, only for Ngelale to publicly dispute the claim, calling it false and unauthorized.
Public Reaction
The ongoing confusion within the President’s media team has sparked a flurry of reactions from Nigerians on social media.
One Twitter user, @Karovoni, commented, “While Bwala was at Channels TV talking about his role as SA Media and Public Communication, his job was being given to someone else. Lol.”
Others expressed concerns about the inefficiency of having three spokespeople for a single president. @femyek wrote, “Three people speaking for the president will only confuse things. You can’t get a clear explanation of a policy from three different people.”
Similarly, @Anadio_ tweeted, “Three spokespersons for one president seem redundant and inefficient.”
@ReginaldAaron4 questioned whether the multiple spokespeople were necessary to manage the communication challenges within the presidency or if it was simply a way to amplify political messaging through various channels.
Other reactions were more critical, with @yomibarca01 remarking, “The fact that there’s no clear lead in the President’s communication team shows how disjointed things are. Three spokespeople in a country struggling economically? What a joke!”
The public outcry continued, with @GENERALEMINA adding, “Bwala parading himself as the government spokesperson only to be reined in and restricted to policy communication. This government is filled with special advisers.”
This latest confusion in the Tinubu administration’s media team raises further questions about the clarity and efficiency of government communication as Nigeria faces pressing economic challenges.
