Daniel Bwala, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on policy communication, has said he underwent surgery shortly after his interview with Al Jazeera.
Mr Bwala made this known on Friday while speaking with media personality Daddy Freeze, where he also accused the network of editing the interview in a way that created a wrong impression.
He said the interview was recorded on February 11 and lasted about one hour and 20 minutes.
According to him, he travelled for medical treatment after the recording and later underwent surgery, which limited his ability to respond to reactions that followed the release of the interview.
“The interview was conducted properly. Questions were asked, and I answered them. I didn’t deny anything,” he said.
Bwala said the version released online on March 5 was about 49 minutes long and did not include parts of the discussion.
He added that another version lasting about eight minutes also circulated online, containing selected segments.
According to him, the clips focused on some responses while leaving out other parts that provided context.
“There is a fact that was incorrectly portrayed and has formed the basis of many opinions online. I asked them to put the record straight,” he said.
The interview was part of the programme Head to Head hosted by Mehdi Hasan.
Clips from the interview circulated on social media and drew reactions from some Nigerians.
Bwala said the network had earlier informed him that the full interview would first be aired on television before being uploaded online.
He said the network later explained that developments involving Israel, Iran and the United States affected the broadcast schedule, but the edited version was still uploaded online.
He called on the network to release the full interview so viewers can see the entire conversation.
The interview drew attention after Hasan asked Bwala about comments he made about Tinubu before joining the administration.
During the programme, Bwala denied making some of the statements mentioned by the host.
The interview also included questions about the appointment of Abubakar Bagudu as minister of budget and economic planning.
Hasan referred to allegations in a report by the United States Department of Justice linking Bagudu to financial activities connected to former head of state Sani Abacha.
Bwala said there was no evidence that the minister misappropriated funds and added that decisions by courts in the United States do not bind the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
