A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Solomon Bob, has berated the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Mr. Daniel Bwala, over comments he made on a television programme, describing him as an “insignificant and attention-seeking operator” engaged in “malicious narrative distortion.”
Rep. Bob was reacting to remarks credited to Bwala during a Friday television appearance, where the presidential aide claimed that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had been “adequately compensated” and suggested that the minister was not allowing the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to govern.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt, the lawmaker said Bwala’s comments were “cheeky, unwarranted and stemmed from premeditated bile.”
According to him, Bwala deliberately sidestepped the question he was asked to insinuate that Wike’s role in the Tinubu administration was about compensation rather than service delivery.
“He doesn’t understand the minister’s contribution to this administration. He operates on the fringes and leaves the impression that he sees public office as a gravy train. Public office is about service delivery, not ‘adequate compensation’,” Rep. Bob said.
The lawmaker also faulted Bwala for downplaying what he described as Wike’s performance as FCT minister by attributing it solely to the exit of the FCT Administration from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).
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Rep. Bob argued that the TSA exit was Wike’s idea and that President Tinubu’s approval reflected confidence in the minister’s capacity, built on what he called Wike’s record as Rivers State governor.
“He was even honoured by President Muhammadu Buhari, who was never enamoured of Wike,” Rep. Bob added.
The House member further accused Bwala of poor judgment for implying that Wike was obstructing Gov. Fubara from governing Rivers State, describing the comment as “classic implication framing from a confused individual who dabbles into everything, including matters beyond his competence and job description.”
Rep. Bob also alleged that Bwala often infused personal sentiments into public commentary and passed them off as the president’s position.
“He wasn’t speaking for the president. The president knows who bears responsibility for the situation in Rivers. Mr. Bwala doesn’t really speak for the president; that is not his remit, and he is way down the pecking order of presidential spokesmen,” he said.
The lawmaker, who represents Abua/Odual and Ahoada East Federal Constituency, suggested that Bwala’s outburst may be linked to lingering bitterness over the defeat of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election.
He claimed Bwala, who previously worked for Atiku, spoke “out of turn” because Wike played a role in Atiku’s loss.
“Obviously, he is still nursing a sense of what might have been, despite grovelling back to get a job in a government made possible by people like the minister,” Rep. Bob said.
He advised the presidential aide to “know his level” and be humble and grateful for his appointment, adding that Bwala had yet to convince many Nigerians that he possessed the capacity required for his current role.
