One of the spokespersons for former vice president Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Daniel Bwala, has stated that he would switch to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to back President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Following a private meeting with President Tinubu at the State House in Abuja yesterday, Bwala responded to a reporter’s query on if he was thinking about joining the APC by saying, “APC is a party.” My motivation is President Bola Tinubu; if backing him gets me into the APC, fine.
“I told him today, I am committing to play my part to support your administration, and I have no apologies to anybody,” says Bwala
Bwala, an ardent critic of the APC and Tinubu government, had on January 2, 2024, said opposition political parties must form a strong coalition if they would successfully wrestle power from the governing APC in the 2027 general elections.
He lauded the President’s suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, saying, “some of his (Tinubu’s) Ministers that were allegedly reported to have committed infractions, instead of protecting them, he asked that the law should have its own course and suspended somebody without wasting time. That, to me, is impressive because it’s about the people.”
Commenting on Tuesday’s announcement of a 60 per cent slash in travel entourages for the Presidency and MDAs, Bwala said “There has been this outcry that the government is bloated. Yesterday, he introduced a policy that reduced the cost of governance and today, he told me it is just the beginning.”
According to him, the President assured him that more cost-cutting measures are underway to reduce the cost of governance.
“What have we been talking about as citizens is that if you don’t have a personal grudge against someone…if it is a policy issue.
“What I’m saying apart from today that I’m talking here is that you all need to visit my Twitter page. In the last few days, I have been expressing my surprise and appreciation to the President for the decisions he is making. So, this is not about political party. And you need to know that, like I said, I was with him before I left. And I was doggedly committed to him.” Bwala explained.