By Gloria Ikibah
A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Solomon Bob, has strongly criticised President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, describing him as “an insignificant and attention-seeking operator punching above his weight” and accusing him of engaging in what he termed “malicious narrative distortion”.
Bob’s remarks followed comments made by Bwala during a television appearance on Friday, where the presidential aide claimed that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had been “adequately compensated” and suggested that he was preventing the Rivers State governor from effectively governing the state. 
In a statement issued on Sunday in Port Harcourt, Bob dismissed Bwala’s comments as “cheeky, unwarranted, and stemmed from premeditated bile”, insisting that the remarks misrepresented the facts and were deliberately crafted to provoke controversy.
The statementread: “You could see that he deliberately pivoted from the question to talk about the Minister having been adequately compensated, whatever that means. He doesn’t understand the Minister’s contribution to this administration. Clearly, he operates on the fringes. And sadly, he leaves the impression that he sees public office as a gravy train ride. Because public office is about service delivery, not adequate compensation.
“Next, he cheekily downplayed the Minister’s generally acknowledged superlative performance in the FCT by putting it down merely to exiting the TSA. Firstly, exiting the TSA itself was the Minister’s ingenious idea. Secondly, the President’s acceptance underlines his confidence in the Minister’s ability to deliver. That confidence is rooted in his strong record as Rivers governor, for which even President Buhari honoured him – and Buhari was never enamoured of Wike.
“Worse still, Mr. Bwala betrayed his absolute lack of judgment by implying that the Minister is impeding Governor Fubara from governing. The manner of his comment is classic implication framing from a confused individual who dabbles into everything and all things, including those beyond his competence and job description”.
The lawmaker who represents Abua/Odual and Ahoada East constituency of Rivers State., said Bwala “denigrates his office by infusing his public comments with his own sentiments and biases and passing them off as the president’s. But he wasn’t speaking for the President because the President knows who bears responsibilityfor the situation in Rivers. Mr. Bwala doesn’t really speak for the president, by the way. That’s not his remit and he is way down the pecking order of presidential spokesmen.”
Rep. Bob, who also serves as Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, suggested that Mr Bwala’s comments may be driven by lingering resentment over the defeat of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 general election.
“Mr. Bwala enthusiastically ran his mouth and spoke out of turn because Minister Wike got Atiku Abubakar on toast. Atiku was his boss until he jumped ship. Obviously, he is still overcome with a sense of what might have been, despite grovelling back to get a job in a government made possible by people like the Minister while he was engaged in typical self-serving rants elsewhere”, he added.
Rep. Bob cautioned Bwala to recognise his limits and approach his role with humility, adding that he should be grateful for the position he occupies, as he has yet to demonstrate the competence and credibility required to effectively function in that capacity.
