‘Cacophony of strange fellows’ — Sowunmi knocks Tinubu over ‘disorganised’ media team

Segun Sowunmi, former spokesman of the Atiku Campaign Organisation, has criticised President Bola Tinubu over restructuring of his media team.

BACKGROUND

There has been confusion about who officially speaks for the president.

After the exit of Ajuri Ngelale, the president’s former special adviser on media and publicity, Bayo Onanuga, designated as special adviser on communication and strategy, took over the duty of presidential spokesman.

On Monday, Daniel Bwala, newly appointed special adviser to the president on public communications and media, announced himself as Tinubu’s spokesman.

Hours later, the presidency announced the re-designation of positions of two recently appointed officials in the State House media and communications team.

Onanuga, who made the announcement, said the decision is to “enhance efficiency within the government’s communication machinery”.

He said Sunday Dare, the special adviser on public communication and national orientation, is now the special adviser on media and public communications.

He added that  Bwala will now function as the special adviser on policy communication.

“These appointments, along with the existing role of special adviser, information and strategy, underscore that there is no single individual spokesperson for the presidency,” the statement reads.

“Instead, all three special advisers will collectively serve as spokespersons for the government.

“This approach aims to ensure effective and consistent communication of government policies, decisions, and engagements.”

‘CACOPHONY OF STRANGE FELLOWS’

Speaking on ‘News Night,’ an Arise TV programme, Sowunmi faulted the decision to appoint more than two persons to manage the presidential communication team.

Showunmi, a former PDP governorship aspirant in Ogun state, described the presidential media team as a “cacophony of strange fellows”.

He added that the idea of having an “attack dog” is obsolete because “the world now thrives on believability which engenders acceptance and good governance”.

“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president now, is one of those politicians, who has invested heavily in the media. He has enough titles, he has enough television outfits. I am disgusted,” he said.

“First of all, I’m disgusted in the sense that there are mistakes you expect a novice who doesn’t understand these things to make. You don’t expect that from someone who has been governor in Lagos.

“Why would he become president of Nigeria and begin to say that, putting together a media team of such a cacophony of strange fellows?

Showunmi asked Tinubu to reorganise the media team and appoint a leadership with cabinet status to oversee and lead the team, ensuring effective coordination and communication.

He said having a designated team leader with cabinet status would simplify things for the media, particularly international outlets, by clearly identifying the person to contact regarding government-related matters.

“If the President cannot put a simple media team together, can anyone be surprised how he will motivate them to get the job done? What is even their job?” He mistakes media management for public relations,” he said.

“He muddles this up with a spokesperson interface, with media firewall speaking heads, and with social media optimisation.”