Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has described Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, as a politician struggling with identity issues.
Bwala made the comment during an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, a clip of which was shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.
According to him, Obi appears to operate more like an opportunist than a politician with a clear ideological stance.
“He (Obi) has not defined his identity in politics, so he finds himself like an opportunistic politician,” Bwala said.
Bwala, a former spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the 2023 election campaign, also spoke about his former principal, Atiku Abubakar.
While he maintained that the PDP flag bearer could have made a good president, he expressed doubt that Atiku would have outperformed Tinubu.
“He (Atiku) would have been a great president. But whether he would have been greater than Asiwaju, I doubt it now,” he said.
Addressing criticisms over his switch from the PDP to working with the APC-led government, Bwala noted that President Tinubu values dissenting opinions within his administration.
He cited examples of his disagreements with the president’s policies, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira.
“Till tomorrow morning, the president of Nigeria told me, ‘you’re free to object with any policy decision and disagree,’” Bwala added.