French Connection Allegations: Niger Republic trying to incite northerners against Tinubu – Presidency

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, says claims by the military leader of Niger Republic, Abdourahamane Tchiani that Nigeria is colluding with France to destabilise his county are despicable propaganda.

He declared that the claims were aimed at inciting Northern Nigeria against President Bola Tinubu.

Bwala said the military leader deliberately chose a local language in the North.

CityNews recalls that Abdourahamane Tchiani, military leader of Niger Republic, made the claims in an interview on Wednesday.

Tchiani, who spoke in Hausa, alleged that France is negotiating with terrorists in Nigeria to destabilise his country.

According to him, France made a substantial payment to President Bola Tinubu to establish a military base in Nigeria.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, shortly afterwards, dismissed the allegations and described them as baseless.

Reacting to the allegations in a video posted on his X page on Friday, Bwala said the claims are baseless propaganda, designed to create chaos and incite bad blood in northern Nigeria against Tinubu.

“Yesterday I came across a video, a despicable propaganda piece by the military head of state of the Niger Republic against the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and this is what you often see with military interregnum,” he said.

“The honeymoon is over; he has not been able to address economic situations in his country; everything is turning against him, and in the desperate gasp for breath, he decided to resort to cheap false lies and propaganda against Nigeria.

“The choice of words used by the military leader is quite insultive for what his intentions are; probably in cohoot with politicians in Nigerians; you never know.

“But the whole idea is to create chaos and bad blood in Northern Nigeria against the President,” he added.

Bwala explained Nigeria’s longstanding leadership role in West Africa and its commitment to fostering bilateral relations with neighbouring countries.