Daniel Bwala, presidential spokesperson on policy communication to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has accused Al Jazeera of selectively editing his recent interview, claiming the cuts created a misleading narrative.
The interview, part of the “Head to Head with Daniel Bwala” series conducted by journalist Mehdi Hasan, circulated widely on social media and drew backlash from some Nigerians who described Bwala’s responses as embarrassing.
Speaking during an interview with On-Air Personality Daddy Freeze, Bwala said the edited version of the interview misrepresented his statements.
“There is a fact that was incorrectly portrayed and has formed the basis of many opinions online, which was unfortunately pushed by Al Jazeera. I asked them to put the record straight,” he said.
According to him, the interview was conducted on February 11, 2026, and was originally intended to run for one hour and 20 minutes.
“The interview was conducted properly. Questions were asked, and I answered them. I didn’t deny anything,” he said.
Bwala, however, claimed that when the network uploaded the interview online on March 5, only 49 minutes of the conversation were included, leaving out nearly 20 minutes of content.
He also noted that an eight-minute version later circulated on social media, which he said further distorted the context of the discussion.
“It joined and cut parts of the interview in a way that emphasized certain points while leaving out crucial context,” he said.
According to Bwala, Al Jazeera had earlier assured him that the full interview would first be aired on television before being uploaded online.
“Their excuse was that trending matters around Israel, Iran, and the US affected the airing. But even so, they went ahead and uploaded the edited version on YouTube,” he added.
Bwala stressed that the full interview should be released to provide proper context for his remarks.
“It’s very important that they publish the full video,” he said, warning that selective editing risks creating misunderstandings about his statements.
