…Close aides, APC chieftains unhappy over unrestricted access
Some close aides of President Bola Tinubu who work with him daily at the Presidential Villa are disappointed that the President has now met Daniel Bwala, spokesman of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 general elections twice in recent times.
In fact Quest Times can now reveal that one of the aides who sees the President regularly had previously warned the President not to approve the planned visit of Bwala when the idea of his visit to the Aso Villa became a buzz in the place.
The aide who had earlier objected to the number of Special Assistants doing the same job for the President advised the President that seeing Bwala with him is bad optics. But the President promptly dismissed him and his suggestion of blocking the former PDP spokesperson from visiting him.
Another top administration official from the Office of the President and some members leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) doing Social Media work also expressed indignation over the invitation.
By Monday January 29, Bwala again shared information of a new meeting with the President who is currently on a private visit to Paris, causing the aides indignation.
Speaking with QUEST TIMES, a chieftain of the APC who heads one of the Federal parastatals in Abuja said while he understood that the president is playing the politics of inclusion, it doesn’t speak well that Bwala is having regular meetings with him while some APC leaders cannot.
” I don’t really know what Bwala wants but if you know the president, you will know he doesn’t play politics if bitterness and he forgives easily. After the Supreme Court judgment, he implored the opposition to join hands with him to move the nation forward”.
” In this case, Bwala is like a prodigal son, who angrily left the APC to work for the opposition. Now that he is back to his senses and has returned home, the President as a loving father will embrace him”.
” My own concern however, is the fact that the president has met him twice in just two weeks. Some party leaders and even aides appointed by the president have not set their eyes on him in months. If they want to see him for anything, they go to the Chief of Staff. Do you think they will be happy now seeing Bwala, a PDP member every now and then with the president?”.
Another aide who spoke on condition of anonymity said he won’t be surprised if Bwala gets an appointment very soon.
” I’m not surprised. In his last interview after visiting Aso Villa, he said if the president gives him appointment, he will appreciate it. I only hope the president will consider those who laboured for his victory first before appointing the spokesman of his major opponent” he said.