A chieftain of the opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, Daniel Bwala, on Wednesday, said he is committed to supporting the administration of President Bola Tinubu, even if that requires him to defect to the All Progressives Congress.
“I told him today that I am committing to play my part to support your administration, and I have no apologies to anybody,” Bwala told State House correspondents after closed-door talks with the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
“APC is a party. President Bola Tinubu is my motivation; if supporting him will take me to the APC, so be it,” he stated when asked if he would defect to the APC.
On January 2, 2024, Bwala, a staunch critic of the governing APC and the Tinubu administration, said opposition political parties must form a strong coalition if they are to successfully wrestle power from the governing APC in the 2027 general elections.
Bwala, a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today, said that without a coalition of opposition parties, President Tinubu would spend eight years in office.
“Without a coalition of political parties, Tinubu is going to spend the next eight years. That one is for sure. The truth of the matter is that there will be a coalition of political parties that will be very strong. This is a fact that I know.
“The coalition that is coming will swallow some of the elements that are creating problems in the various political parties,” he said.
He commended the President’s suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, saying, “Some of his (Tinubu’s) ministers that were allegedly reported to have committed infractions, instead of protecting them, he asked that the law should have its course and suspended somebody without wasting time. That, to me, is impressive because it’s about the people.”
Referring to Tuesday’s announcement of a 60 percent slash in travel entourages for the Presidency and MDAs, Bwala remarked, “There has been this outcry that the government is bloated. Yesterday, he introduced a policy that reduced the cost of governance, and today, he told me it was just the beginning.”
The legal practitioner said the President assured him that more cost-cutting measures are underway to reduce the cost of governance.
“What we have been talking about as citizens is that if you don’t have a personal grudge against someone, if it is a policy issue. What I’m saying, apart from today that I’m talking here, is that you all need to visit my Twitter page. In the last few days, I have been expressing my surprise and appreciation to the President for the decisions he is making. So, this is not about political parties. And you need to know that, like I said, I was with him before I left. And I was doggedly committed to him.
“I told him today that I am committing to play my part to support your administration, and I have no apologies to anybody,” he explained.
