Daniel Bwala: Allegations by Nigerien leader attempt to incite northerners against Tinubu

Daniel Bwala, the special adviser on policy communication to the president, says claims by Abdourahamane Tchiani, the military leader of Niger Republic, that Nigeria is colluding with France to destabilise the West African nation, are “despicable propaganda”.

Abdourahamane Tchiani, military leader of Niger Republic, made the claims in an interview on Wednesday.

Tchiani, who spoke in Hausa, alleged that France is negotiating with terrorists in Nigeria to destabilise his country.

He said France made a “substantial payment to President Bola Tinubu” to establish a military base in Nigeria.

Shortly afterwards, Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, refuted the allegations and described them as “baseless.”

Reacting to the allegations in a video posted on his X page on Friday, Bwala said the claims are “baseless propaganda, designed to create chaos and incite bad blood in northern Nigeria against Tinubu”.

“Yesterday I came across a video, a despicable propaganda piece by the military head of state of the Niger Republic against the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and this is what you often see with military interregnum,” he said.

“The honeymoon is over; he has not been able to address economic situations in his country; everything is turning against him, and in the desperate gasp for breath, he decided to resort to cheap false lies and propaganda against Nigeria.”

The presidential aide noted Nigeria’s longstanding leadership role in West Africa and its commitment to fostering bilateral relations with neighbouring countries.

“Nigeria over the years has maintained its leadership in the West African sub-region and as a country we have not only developed but maintained bilateral relationships with our neighbours and have been of help tremendously to our neighbouring countries,” he said.

“It is lies, and he chose a local language in the north because he wants to rile up the north against the president. I don’t think any politician in Nigeria who has absolute interest in the national interest and security of Nigeria will ever take part in that kind of negative rhetoric.

“Probably in cahoots with politicians in Nigeria, you never know, but the whole idea is to create chaos and bad blood in northern Nigeria against the president.”

Bwale asked Nigerians to disregard Tchiani’s claims as “false and divisive”.

“First of all, his lies and propaganda are false as can be seen by all. Nigeria has never had to give its own land as a military base to any country,” he said.

“Nigeria is a nation that has its own capacity to protect its citizens, and every nation has its own struggle in a bid to safeguard the country.

“It is becoming clear that the honeymoon he had with his people is over. He probably doesn’t have a plan for his people and has resorted to that cheap blackmail. It is false, and nobody should take him seriously.”