Daniel Bwala, Presidential Spokesperson on Policy Communication to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has accused Al Jazeera of selectively editing a recent interview with him, alleging that the edits created a misleading narrative that triggered widespread criticism on social media.
The interview, titled Head to Head with Daniel Bwala and conducted by Al Jazeera journalist Mehdi Hasan, had drawn backlash from several Nigerians online, with some critics describing Bwala’s performance as an embarrassment to the country.
However, speaking during an Instagram Live session with media personality Daddy Freeze on Tuesday, March 10, Bwala said parts of the interview were misrepresented due to the way it was edited before publication.
“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.
Bwala explained that the interview was originally recorded on February 11, 2026, and was intended to run for about one hour and twenty minutes.
“The interview was conducted properly. Questions were asked, and I answered them. I didn’t deny anything,” Bwala noted.
According to him, the version eventually published online did not reflect the full conversation.
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However, he claims that when Al Jazeera uploaded the interview on March 5, only 49 minutes of the discussion were released, with nearly 20 minutes removed.
“They later produced an 8-minute version that joined and cut parts of the interview in a way that emphasized certain points while leaving out crucial context,” he added.
Bwala further stated that the network had initially indicated that the full interview would first be broadcast on television before being made available 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 said.
The presidential aide maintained that the full version of the interview should be made public to allow viewers understand the complete context of his remarks.
“It’s very important that they publish the full video,” he said.