Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, has dismissed claims by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar that the current administration is driving Nigerians deeper into hunger and hardship.
Speaking on TVC’s FCT Brief, Bwala accused opposition figures of orchestrating “buzz politics” aimed at discrediting government efforts.
“The most fundamental thing is the issue he (Atiku) has raised. Does he have a valid point? He does not because the data suggests otherwise,” Bwala said.
He pointed to gains in foreign reserves, reduced import dependency, and structural reforms that, according to him, are stabilising the economy. “He said we are creating hunger. Is he blinded, or doesn’t he hear the fact of the progress we’ve made?” he asked.
Bwala also highlighted health and education interventions such as nationwide Caesarean-section access and the student loan scheme (NELFUND), accusing Atiku of ignoring tangible achievements.
The presidential aide further argued that hunger has been a recurring theme in Nigeria’s history, long before Tinubu’s tenure. “Nigerians were hungry in 1960, hungry in 1980, hungry in 1990, hungry in 1999… You mean when somebody sang Nigeria Jaga Jaga, he sang in abstract?”
Dismissing opposition narratives as “dog whistling for civil unrest,” Bwala insisted the administration should be assessed by measurable progress.
“There has never been a time in which there is no one problem or the other as far as the Nigerian people is concerned. But judge the metrics. Judge us not by the rhetoric of Nigerians are hungry. Judge us by the dynamics of what we’re putting in place and whether it’s working.” He added.
