A presidential aide to Bola Tinubu, Daniel Bwala, has revealed how former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi allegedly tried to recruit him ahead of the 2023 presidential election through former Nigerian leader Olusegun Obasanjo.
Bwala, who currently serves as Special Adviser to the president on Policy Communication, said the approach happened during the political build-up to the last general election.
According to him, the move was aimed at persuading him to support Obi’s presidential ambition at the time.
He made the disclosure during an interview with media personality Daddy Freeze, where he narrated the circumstances surrounding the alleged political outreach.
Bwala explained that the call from Obasanjo came while he was in London.
He said the former president contacted him directly and asked him to come and join him at a meeting where Obi and other political figures were present.
He said:
“In 2023, Peter Obi asked Obasanjo, who called me while I was in London. He was at Hilton together with Datti and two other stakeholders. He called me, and while I picked the call, I didn’t hear him well, so I asked, ‘Who is that?’ He said, ‘My name is Obasanjo.’
“And I said, ‘Daddy, sorry,’ and he said, ‘I’m calling you to come and join me.’ At that time, he was denying that he was behind Peter Obi’s agenda. Peter Obi approached me to work for him, and I refused.
“Ambassador Amuchi Osuk was the person they sent to begin the term, and at that time they thought I was going to go to Peter Obi. When you leave on the grounds of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the PDP’s candidate at that time was a Muslim, they thought naturally this guy is a bigot, so he would go to a Christian candidate. When I didn’t go, Obidient people started abusing me.”
Bwala stated that despite the respect he has for Obasanjo, he declined the invitation and chose not to align himself with Obi’s campaign.
