LAGOS, Nigeria (CHATNEWSTV) — Segun Sowunmi, former spokesman for Atiku Abubakar’s presidential campaigns in 2019 and 2023, has praised President Bola Tinubu as “smarter than his mates” and “miles ahead” of his political opponents, following a private visit to the president in Lagos.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Sowunmi said he was impressed by Tinubu’s intellectual sharpness and command of policy matters during their conversation.
“It is not a bad time to have a conversation with the president,” Sowunmi said. “I decided to engage him since people talk about his frailty. So, I jumped on that investigation.”
He continued: “His brain is very alert, he is fit. You know when you are asking someone questions and he answers without looking at the book.”
Sowunmi described the interaction as a privilege, especially considering his non-affiliation with the ruling All Progressives Congress.
“The privilege to engage with the number one citizen in office, even when I’m not in his party and I critique him, makes him superior to the others,” he said. “I’ve been in this party [PDP] forever. The only time we go to them is after they’ve lost and we need to shore them up. Do you know the difference between Bola and them? He doesn’t have one approach to dealing with everybody.”
Defending Tinubu’s economic policies, Sowunmi accused opposition figures of prematurely dismissing the administration’s efforts.
“There comes a time in the life of a nation where you must try to be sure whether the direction a leader is going is the right direction—or at least whether it is the intended direction—and I guarantee you, he is smart, above average,” he said.
Sowunmi also hinted at a possible political realignment, saying he would be willing to work with Tinubu, even if it meant leaving the People’s Democratic Party.
“There has never been a doubt that I can work with him,” he said. “If I’m going to work with the president, I am going to leave the PDP.”
He dismissed suggestions that he had betrayed former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, saying, “Atiku is running a coalition, which everyone knows I’m not part of.”
