Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Policy Communication, has accused Al Jazeera journalist Mehdi Hasan of practicing what he described as opposition-style journalism during a recent interview.
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Bwala made the allegation while speaking on News Central’s programme 60 Minutes with Mr Kay, which aired on Friday, where he reflected on his exchange with Hasan.
He claimed that the journalist’s approach was not neutral, but appeared aimed at challenging and discrediting the government.
“What Mehdi Hasan did was what we call opposition-style journalism, where you play the role of the opposition,” Bwala said.
He alleged that the interview was designed to extract statements that could be used against the administration.
“In that interview, Mehdi sought to elicit information from me to discredit the government, but he could not,” he added.
Bwala explained that a large part of the interview focused on his past political criticisms of President Bola Tinubu, which he acknowledged but said were not relevant to the main discussion.
“In the first 15 minutes, he kept asking about things I said when I was in the opposition. I admitted them, but I asked that we move on to the purpose of the interview,” he said.
He further claimed that the repeated focus on his past statements affected the flow of the discussion.
“He continued on that line, and at a point I warned him that if he kept going that way, I would deny it. He still continued, and that was why I reacted that way,” Bwala stated.
The presidential aide maintained that despite the tense exchange, he handled the interview properly and remained focused on defending the government’s position.
