Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has claimed that Al Jazeera privately apologised to him over a controversial interview aired earlier this year, adding that the matter is now before a court in England.
Speaking on The Morayo Show, Bwala said the broadcaster admitted it should have informed him in advance that his credibility and previous criticism of President Tinubu would be a major focus of the interview.
According to Bwala, he rejected the private apology and demanded that it be made public. “They apologised to me privately. I said they should put it on social media. They said they would not because it would affect their credibility,” he said.
Bwala appeared on Al Jazeera’s Head to Head programme in March, where host Mehdi Hasan repeatedly confronted him with past statements and video clips from his time as spokesperson for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaign. During the interview, Hasan questioned Bwala about his previous criticisms of Tinubu and his subsequent decision to support the president. Clips from the exchange later went viral on social media.
Bwala said he has instructed lawyers in England to pursue legal action against the broadcaster, claiming the interview was edited in a way that misrepresented his responses. He alleged that producers removed an opening segment in which he acknowledged making the earlier comments about Tinubu but told the interviewer they were outside the agreed scope of the discussion.
According to Bwala, the omission created the impression that he was simply denying his previous statements without context. “My advisers in England said it is a case of defamation of character,” he said, adding that the matter is currently before the court.