Another former spokesperson of Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Segun Sowunmi, has started singing the praises of President Bola Tinubu.
Recall that Daniel Bwala, who was once Atiku’s spokesperson late last year, suddenly changed tune and started singing the praises of the sitting president after having a private meeting with him.
He was later offered a post with President Tinubu to work as his Special Adviser on Policy Communication.
His colleague, who is also a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sowunmi, is now effusive with words of praise for President Tinubu after also having a private meeting with him in his Bourdillon residence in Lagos over the Eid El Kabir holidays.
Speaking on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, Sowunmi defended his recent meeting with President Tinubu, saying he was an independent person who was free to meet with anybody.
He also argued that the meeting did not signal disloyalty to Atiku.
“I am at liberty as an adult to take decisions. I am not tied to anybody. I am not anti-Tinubu,” he said.
He said he had been a long-standing member of the PDP and had never been accused of disloyalty.
He said, “I own my mouth, I own my words, and I own my arguments,” suggesting that he could not be gagged from speaking his mind.
Speaking on Tinubu, he said the president’s strategic political style sets him apart from other leaders.
“Do you know the difference between Bola and them? He doesn’t have one approach to dealing with everybody. By miles, he is smarter than them. He is smarter than Peter Obi, he is smarter than them,” Sowunmi said.
Responding to the question of whether what he was saying now was not against what Atiku stood for, he said Atiku was currently engaged in coalition-building, which he, Sowunmi, was not part of.
“Is he running for president now? He’s running a coalition that everybody knows I am not part of. Why would you even think I don’t have my individuality?” he asked rhetorically.
Talking about his meeting with TInubu, he said it happened at the president’s Bourdillon residence in Lagos during the Eid celebrations.
“I was concerned that this democracy was faltering, and I don’t think it was his fault. I began to be a little bit uncomfortable with the demonising of all policies by those who don’t understand what it takes to design futuristic ideas that could work,” he said.
Sowunmi praised the president’s mental capacity, saying, “His brain is very alert, he is fit. You know when you are asking someone questions and he is answering without looking at the book.”
Sowunmi said, however, that he would not accept any political appointment from Tinubu while still a member of the PDP.
