Al Jazeera misrepresented my comments by editing interview – Bwala
By Jeffrey Agbo
Daniel Bwala, the Presidential Spokesperson on Policy Communication for President Bola Tinubu, has accused Al Jazeera of editing his recent interview in a way that misrepresented his comments and triggered criticism online.
The interview, part of the “Head to Head with Daniel Bwala” series hosted by journalist Mehdi Hasan, circulated widely on social media, where some Nigerians criticised Bwala’s performance and described his responses as embarrassing.
Addressing the controversy during an interview with On-Air Personality Daddy Freeze, Bwala alleged that the broadcast network altered the original conversation by removing key portions.
“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.”
Bwala said the interview took place on February 11, 2026, and was initially scheduled to last one hour and 20 minutes. According to him, the conversation proceeded normally and he responded to all the questions raised.
“The interview was conducted properly. Questions were asked, and I answered them. I didn’t deny anything,” he said.
However, he claimed that when the network later uploaded the programme online on March 5, only 49 minutes of the interview were included, leaving out close to 20 minutes of the discussion.
Bwala further alleged that an even shorter eight-minute version later began circulating on social media, which he said stitched together parts of the interview in a way that changed the overall meaning.
He explained that the edited clip “joined and cut parts of the interview in a way that emphasised certain points while leaving out crucial context.”
According to him, Al Jazeera had earlier assured him that the full interview would first be aired on television before the online release.
“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.
Bwala stressed that releasing the complete recording was necessary to provide the full context of the conversation.
“It’s very important that they publish the full video,” he said, warning that selective editing could lead to misunderstandings about what he said during the interview.
