Politics
THE recent appointment by President Bola Tinubu of erstwhile Campaign spokesman of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Daniel Bwala as the special adviser on public communication and media has been described as deeply troubling and absolutely immoral.
The civil rights advocacy group, HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) told the President emphatically that his newly appointed Adviser on public communication and media, Mr. Daniel Bwala will labour in vain to communicate any meaningful and tangible achievements of the government to Nigerians due to his MORAL DILEMMA. “The media of mass communication wouldn’t even take any of his words as believable because of his notoriety in absolutely rubbishing the credentials, integrity and credibility of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the presidential campaign in 2023”.
Besides, HURIWA decried the clear failure of president Tinubu to drop ex- Lagos lawmaker Mrs. Mojisolaoluwa Alli–Macaulay as executive director (operations) of the Nigeria social insurance trust fund (NSITF) even amidst unresolved allegation of looting of covid-19 palliatives depicts an administration that is not bothered about her poor anti- corruption image and is a slap on corporate integrity of the country and rubbished any claims of experiencing good governance in Nigeria now.
HURIWA said: “It is a deep-seated act of executive lawlessness for someone with unresolved allegation of official indiscretion to be elevated by President Tinubu to occupy a prime position in the same NSITF whereby one of its heads by name Ngozi Olejeme was on Octover 22nd 2021 arraigned in the Federal High Court over alleged N1 billion fraud. NSITF as an agency that has suffered serial cases of heist allegedly committed by appointees, it is therefore insanely immoral for the current President to appoint a lady who as a law maker in Lagos was widely accused of diverting palliatives meant for poor Lagosians. Has Nigeria ran out of persons without any form of moral baggage of allegations of theft of public funds or assets?”
In a media statement by the national coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA said the designation of Mr. Daniel Bwala as the adviser to President Tinubu on public communication and the media is an emphatic statement by the president that public opinion matter little to him.
“How does president Tinubu expect any sane Nigerian to believe any communication out of the mouth of Daniel Bwala, the same person, who as the campaign spokesman of Atiku Abubakar, the then PDP’s presidential flagbearer in the 2023 poll, went to the gutter level of branding the then APC’s Presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as someone associated with drug trafficking? What has changed between when Bwala was running down Tinubu during the Presidential campaign and now that he has gone to grab a Presidential appointment? The memories of Nigeria are fresh and we remember all the dirty campaigns against the person of Bola Ahmed Tinubu including tagging him with such a heinous crime in a prime time interview with a TV stations that was watched by over 100 million Nigerians and then the same extensively damaging information on Tinubu circulated on front pages of Major newspapers.”
“Mr. President should endeavor to inject respect for ethics and morality in deciding on whom to appoint into Public offices. Sir, you must realise that any attempt to give the impression that government has no care in the world for public perception of your APC administration, then the essence of governance is inevitably defeated. Imagine the same person who made sensational allegations against the president when he was a candidate, now becoming the spokesman in of the same President as if Nigerians have no retentive memories. This is a moral aberration. Mr.President, if Bwala needed financial assistance, why not give him a legal consultancy to make genuine incomes instead of rubbishing the high office of Special adviser on Public communication and the media.
HURIWA has also expressed disappointment that even with the allegation of looting of covid-19 palliatives, the president picked Macaulay- Alli into NSITF which is one agency that has been troubled by monumental cases of corruption
On November 10th. 2022, Daniel Bwala said thus about President Tinubu: “I’m afraid that the conclusion of this case is that, from the eyes of the law . . . Bola may be disqualified from contesting if the matter goes to court,” Bwala said.
“Narcotics and money laundering, whether in Nigeria or the United States, is a criminal offence.”
HURIWA recalled vividly that Mr.Bwala was commenting on the controversy surrounding a document released by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The document contained evidence of Tinubu’s alleged involvement in narcotics and money laundering about 30 years ago.
The matter, which ended in a settlement, led to Tinubu’s forfeiture of $460,000 in one of the accounts linked to the former governor of Lagos State.
HURIWA recalled that the then Spokesperson for the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo vigorously argued then that Tinubu was not indicted in the matter and had no case to answer.
Bwala however argued that the issue at stake was a matter of character.
“For the Nigerian people, the source of the money is important, but there is still a cloud around drug related offences and drug related activity with somebody who wants to be the number one citizen of the country,” he said.
“Recently, there was a massive busting of cocaine in Nigeria. This idea of drugs and narcotics is a terrible case all over the world.
“And if someone has that questionable character and is elected as a President, what it means is that it will embolden people who are into those activities. That’s why the person has to come out clean.” Bwala had said.
Besides, the Rights group recalled that President Bola Tinubu had appointed a former Lagos lawmaker, Mojisolaoluwa Kehinde Alli-Macaulay, as the Executive Director (Operations) of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.
Mrs Alli-Macaulay who represented Amuwo Odofin 1 in Lagos at the time was exposed for allegedly diverting COVID-19 palliatives meant to alleviate the suffering of poor masses during the COVID-19 lockdown and rebranding the palliatives as her birthday souvenirs in 2020.
A petition by Mrs Alli-Macaulay’s constituents called for her recall on grounds of poor constituency representation and theft of palliatives meant for the masses during the pandemic.
HURIWA citing researched findings by Dr. Mandeed Gaur, told the President Tinubu that Morality is intertwined with good governance thus: “The overall objective of morality is to ensure good governance with prime concern for moral values, practices and behaviour. These moral values are inculcated in an individual by her parents, teachers, religion, society and the environment of workplace.
“The essential duty of governance is to effectively and equitably implement what is called the social contract. Hence, it demands a highly competent, well informed and capable administration. It envisages the government institutions to become innovative, participatory and have a good deal of sound policy formulation, open-mindedness, and distinct citizen orientation.
“The promotion of ethics and moral values in good governance implies legality of government action, rationality in policy and decision making, evolving a sense of responsibility, ensuring accountability, strengthening work commitment, creating excellence, facilitating spirit of individual and organizational goals, developing responsiveness, showing compassion, protecting the national interests, safeguarding the spirit of justice, instilling transparency and elevating integrity.”
A.I
Nov. 18, 2024
Tags: former Vice President Atiku Abubakar Mr. Daniel Bwala
